My Past Is Not A Pretty Place
by GuardianDragon98
Summary: Sonic comes face-to-face with his past when he and his team head to Christmas Island to stop Dr. Eggman from taking over. The gang will soon discover that there's more to their cheerful, thrill-seeking friend than they originally thought. Memories are relived and demons are unleashed as Sonic and co. discover that Eggman might not be the real villain on the island...
1. Chapter 1

'**Sup, guys! GuardianDragon98 here with my first-ever full-length Sonic fanfiction. I have to thank FrozenFlames12 for giving me a great prompt to expand into a story. They've got some pretty great Sonic story prompts they're offering to other fanfic writers. If you love Sonic, FrozenFlames12 can give you some great ideas.**

**BTW, who has seen the new Sonic Movie Trailer? I'm so glad the people at Paramount Pictures listened to the fans. And thank you to Tyson Hesse for leading the redesign. You are a godsend!**

**Now, on with the story!**

**NOTE: I DO NOT OWN ANY OF THE SONIC CHARACTERS. ALL RIGHTS GO TO SEGA!**

* * *

**Chapter 1**

_Fire._

_It's all he can see. Flames everywhere. The smoke fills his lungs, making him cough and choke. The heat is agony. Sweat is trickling down his back, down his face and into his eyes. He's only been inside the house for 30 seconds and he already feels like he's dying._

_Fear fills his entire being, making his heart beat a million times faster… but he's not afraid for himself._

_"HELP!"_

_A shrill scream splits the air and he runs in the direction of the voice, pumping his legs desperately. He screams back and the voice answers, frantic and terrified._

_"SONIC!"_

_He can barely see anything apart from the intense orange and red blaze surrounding him, threatening to swallow him up like the ocean he had nearly drowned in not so long ago, but he keeps going. He has to keep going. _

_"SONIC, HELP!"_

_He has to save her._

_"SONIC!"_

_He nearly cries with relief when he sees her, standing in the midst of the inferno just a foot away from him. She's covered in ash and has a few minor burns but, thank Chaos, she is alive._

_Their eyes lock and he thinks that it's going to be okay when she gives him a relieved smile even as tears well up in her eyes._

_He takes one, maybe two, steps towards her… then he hears the sickening groan and crack of burning wood above him._

_He sees the terror in her eyes and takes another step, thinking that it's not too late, and she does the same._

_Then the roof caves in._

_He sees her look at him one last time, her face frozen in an expression of total and utter fear, and he hears her scream…_

_"**SONIC!"**_

* * *

Sonic the Hedgehog, renowned Hero of Mobius, woke up with a gasp. His emerald green eyes darted around, still seeing the flames of his nightmare. But there was no fire. Just the faint shafts of moonlight pouring through the open window of his bedroom.

Rubbing his eyes, Sonic took a couple of deep breaths to calm his racing heart. _'I haven't dreamt about... _it_… for a long time,' _he thought before glancing at the small calendar on the bedside table, sighing when he saw the date.

It was that time of year again.

Sleep wasn't going to come back to him tonight, that's for sure. He swung his legs off the bed and pulled on his red sneakers, pulling the white straps tight and adjusting the gold buckles. Tiptoeing down the stairs, so as not to disturb Tails, he went out of their shared house located in Green Hill.

Looking up at the stars, Sonic briefly wondered what it would have been like if things had turned out different.

If she had survived, would she be living with him and Tails? Or would she have lived with him and his Uncle Chuck? If she and her family had lived, would they have been next-door neighbors?

Sonic shook his head, the image of her frightened face flashing through his mind again and banishing all other 'what if' scenarios from his thoughts. His hands started itching horribly under his gloves but he clenched them into fists. There was nothing wrong with them. It was like phantom limb syndrome, a reminder of the night that had left him with scars that will never go away.

He started running. It didn't matter that it was in the middle of the night. He knew Green Hill Zone like the back of his hand. He had no destination. He just wanted to run.

Maybe if he ran far enough, he could forget about today.

The day he left that accursed place after he had lost her.

The day he left and swore that he would never come back.

* * *

**And you thought Shadow was the only one who experienced deep emotional trauma. Stay tuned for the next chapter coming soon ;)**

**-GuardianDragon98**


	2. Chapter 2

**Throwing this out there. To the Guest reviewer (so far, the only reviewer), a good guess… but not quite. More answers shall be revealed in future chapters ;)**

**NOTE: I DO NOT OWN ANY OF THE SONIC CHARACTERS!**

* * *

**Chapter 2**

"OHOHOHOHO! I can't believe how _easy _it was to con those islanders!" Dr. Ivo Robotnik, AKA Dr. Eggman, rubbed his hands together in glee as he marveled at his newly-built factory - a foreboding steel structure outfitted with the latest security systems, an assembly line of Badniks ready to be sent out and invade at his command, and parking for his Eggmobile and other modes of transport. Inside, his generators hummed non-stop as his robots were assembled.

Here was the start of his new Eggman Empire. The location was perfect. Christmas Island was little more than a speck on the map so he barely gave a thought about it in the past. In fact, the islanders had never even heard of him. Albeit initially wary of him, they believed him when he had offered to build them a generator to supplement their village's power supply.

Three months after his arrival to Christmas Island, Eggman had finished building his factory and was ready to begin his conquest.

"Maybe I should invite the mayor over. She can be the first to be roboticized…" Eggman mused to himself as he sat at his desk, poring over the blueprints of his latest robot creation. The designs looked amazing. Now all he needed was a power source. Going Chaos Emerald hunting would take too much time so he was going to have to find an alternative.

'_Perhaps I can gather a few little critters from the island's forest…' _thought Eggman as reached for his coffee mug only to find it gone from its usual place on the right-hand corner of his desk.

"Orbot! Cubot! I told you two to bring me a coffee!" Eggman barked.

His two bumbling robot lackeys came in, bearing a large wooden box, looking equal parts frightened and confused.

"But, boss, we _did_. We even left you the whole coffee pot in case you wanted a refill," Cubot replied.

Grumbling, Eggman checked the surveillance footage from his office. Sure enough, the video showed the two robots coming in and placing his coffee mug and a full pot of the dark brew on his desk an hour ago. Suddenly, the footage went still before the whole screen filled up with static. Then the footage changed from static to current time.

"What is it with these security cameras? I've had to replace them _six times_ in the past three months!" Eggman exclaimed.

_CLANG!_

Orbot and Cubot jumped as a wrench on another table filled with tools suddenly fell and struck the metal floor. Looking at the box they carried, the two robots approached the Doctor.

"Um… Sir… I don't mean to be the bearer of bad news but Cubot and me… Well…" Orbot twiddled his thumbs. "We think that you… mighthavebuiltthisentirefactoryoveraburialsite," he said quickly.

Cubot nodded, gulping, while Eggman gave them a blank look.

"You two have been watching way too many horror movies behind my back," Eggman deadpanned just as the lights started flickering.

Orbot and Cubot both whimpered and held onto each other, abandoning the box between them.

"Oh, great, now there's something wrong with the generators here…" Eggman griped, rubbing the bridge of his nose in vexation. "Where'd you idiots even get this idea of a burial site? The inhabitants of Christmas Island didn't say anything about a grave being located here."

"The Badniks dug these up shortly after we got permission to put up the factory here." Orbot went over to the box and, with trembling hands, opened the lid.

Eggman took one look inside and paled.

Inside the box were Mobian remains, the bones charred black and still carrying the faintest whiff of smoke.

"And you two couldn't have told me about this _THREE MONTHS AGO_?!" yelled the Doctor before the lights started flickering more violently.

Eggman let out an unmanly shriek as more tools joined the wrench on the floor, the entire table rocking violently and throwing them all down. Orbot and Cubot screamed, taking refuge behind their creator, as some of the lights blew out.

The air in the room suddenly turned cold, goosebumps forming on Eggman's skin. Objects started floating around them – including Orbot and Cubot, who both screamed in fright.

Grabbing the two robots, Eggman looked around wildly. "I-I'm warning you!" he shouted, although he wasn't entirely sure who he was addressing. "You're trespassing on the private property of Eggman Industries! Get out!"

A child's high-pitched laughter filled the room followed by the strong smell of smoke and… jasmine?

Eggman felt chills crawl up his spine as a ball of black fire suddenly burst into existence right in front of him. Then his fear was tempered by anger as he saw his precious coffee mug hovering beside the black fireball. "Hey, that's my coffee!" he flinched as the mug was thrown at him, hitting him right between the eyes.

"_**I'll never understand how you adults like that stuff."**_

The black fireball grew in size, changing its shape, morphing into arms, legs, hands, feet, and a head until the figure of a long-haired female hedgehog emerged. Black flames tinged with gray cloaked the hedgehog girl, emitting a sickly gray glow in the semi-darkness.

"Gh-gh-gh-gh-gh…" Orbot stuttered out before Cubot screamed, "GHOST!" for him and the two squirmed out of Eggman's grip and hightailed it out of there.

Eggman remained behind, frozen in his tracks. The ghost hedgehog floated closer to him, her eyes all white.

"_**This is **_**your **_**property?" **_She narrowed her eyes at the scientist. _**"Last time I checked, my house stood here. If anyone's trespassing, it's **_**you**_**," **_she hissed before lunging at Eggman.

Eggman screamed, expecting himself to get scorched by the ghost hedgehog's flames, then choked as he felt a numbing coldness spread all throughout his body. Then the cold was replaced with agony as the Doctor doubled over in pain. His head was pounding, memories flashing through his eyes, and he could hear the ghost whispering in his very mind.

"_**Oh, poor, poor, poor, Doctor Robotnik. Unappreciated, unloved, unwanted…"**_

He saw his mother abandoning him when he was just a little boy. His father ignoring him even when he finally succeeded in building his first robot. He clutched his heart, feeling the loneliness he'd always felt come back full-force.

"_**Turned all that pain into rage. And let it loose on the entire world."**_

He saw himself conquering cities and different zones, reveling in the screams of puny Mobians and his spineless fellow humans.

The ghost girl's voice took a hard edge.

"_**You've hurt so many people. And you deserve punishment."**_

Eggman sank to his knees, blinking his eyes rapidly, as the phantoms of all the Mobians and humans who had been killed in his conquests surrounded him.

"_**Murderer…" **_one Mobian cat, her face bloodied and torn, raised a claw at him in accusation.

"_**Traitor…" **_a young human wearing bloodstained clothes shook his fist at him.

"_**Monster!" **_the phantoms cried, circling him.

"N-No… No, stop… Stop… Please, stop…" Eggman gasped out as the spirits circled him, chanting.

"_**Monster, monster, monster, monstermonstermonsterMONSTERMONSTERMONSTER!"**_

"MAKE IT STOP!" screamed Eggman, clutching his head in his hands.

The hedgehog girl's laugh echoed in his ears. _**"Oh, but you're a really smart monster. I think I can use you," **_she purred.

Eggman suddenly felt himself stand up and walk towards his desk. He watched, morbidly transfixed, as his hands swiped through his blueprints on their own.

"_**You need a power source for your new robots, right?" **_The ghost hedgehog suddenly appeared next to him, her wide smile exposing sharp white fangs. _**"I can help you with that," **_she said before lunging at him again.

Eggman groaned, leaning over his desk, as he felt the ghost pick apart his mind again. So many memories being relived so fast… His brain felt like it was melting…

Then he saw all of his past defeats at the hand of that annoying blue nuisance, Sonic the Hedgehog.

The ghost's voice whispered in his ears, sounding surprised this time, _**"You know him…"**_

Before Eggman could even think of a response, he felt himself falling, falling, falling into darkness…

* * *

"Boss?" Cubot stuck his head into the room, shaking. Orbot was right behind him, clutching a frying pan. Things had finally settled down and the two robots, steeling their nerves, had returned to rescue the Doctor from the ghost's clutches.

"Dr. Eggman?" Orbot called out, him and Cubot entering the room.

"_**I'm sorry. Dr. Eggman isn't available right now."**_

Orbot and Cubot froze, staring at Dr. Eggman. But… it wasn't Dr. Eggman. A sinister black aura emanated from the Doctor. And, behind his blue spectacles, his eyes now glowed an insidious red.

"_**Orbot and Cubot, right? I'm Multo. Nice to meet you," **_The being-that-wasn't-Dr. Eggman said politely in Eggman's voice, holding out the Doctor's hand to the trembling robots.

Not wanting to invoke the ghost's wrath further, Orbot and Cubot shook hands with it. _'At least it's a polite ghost…' _both robots thought.

"Wh-what have you done with Dr. Eggman?!" Orbot stammered, shivering when the possessed scientist patted his head.

"_**Oh, the Doctor's just taking a little vacation. Don't worry. You'll get him back," **_Multo reassured him and Cubot as she led them to the Doctor's desk where the blueprints for his new robot line were shown.

"_**But, for now, I'll take charge around here. We've got some work to do. Power up them generators and let's get building!" **_Multo said, clapping the Doctor's hands gleefully.

"B-But we don't have a sufficient power source for these robots…" Cubot mumbled.

A wide smile formed on the Doctor's face. If Orbot and Cubot had been flesh and bone, instead of steel and wires, they would have felt their blood run icy cold.

"_**Don't worry. I got it covered," **_Multo replied as she raised the Doctor's arms and started chanting, the dark aura around the Doctor's body now burning intensely until it looked like he was surrounded by black fire.

Orbot and Cubot clutched at each other as eerie balls of gray light seeped out from under the factory's floors. High-pitched cackling filled the room as more ghosts appeared, surrounding the possessed Dr. Eggman.

"_**Let's have some fun," **_Multo declared, the ghosts around her laughing with glee.

* * *

**Well, we have our villain.**

**The next chapter will take a couple more weeks to write, I'm afraid. I'm down to the last 3 weeks of the semester in college so I need to focus more on my studies.**

**Until the next chapter. Please read and review.**

**-GuardianDragon98**


	3. Chapter 3

**Hi, it's me. I'm really sorry this new chapter took so long to write. Apart from finishing the first semester of my last year in college, I ended up getting sick and couldn't be on my laptop for more than an hour without getting headaches :p**

**I hope this new chapter makes up for my absence on this story.**

**NOTE: I DO NOT OWN ANY OF THE SONIC CHARACTERS!**

* * *

**Chapter 3**

"That all you got, Shads?"

Sonic grinned as he turned around, running backward, to face Shadow. "Cause, just so you know, I'm only at my cruising speed," he told him, arms crossed as he confidently kept running with his back turned to the front of the road.

Shadow smirked. "You haven't seen anything yet, Sonic," he said coolly, his jet skates flaring. He dashed right past Sonic who, after looking stunned for a split second, laughed and turned around.

"Now we're talking!" the Blue Blur grinned and ran faster.

The streets of Station Square were bustling as usual. Mobians and humans alike went on with their day-to-day business while making sure to clear a path as the two hedgehogs raced around town. With Sonic the Hedgehog's frequent visits, the city's inhabitants were already well-aware of keeping to the sidewalks to avoid a high-speed collision with the blue hedgehog while he was out running.

Sonic and Shadow both came to a screeching stop as they reached an intersection, the pedestrian crossing light red, cars driving by them. While the timer counted down from 120, the two hedgehogs were able to catch their breath.

"I'm totally gonna win," Sonic declared to Shadow, the black-and-red hedgehog rolling his eyes.

Sonic suddenly felt something lightly tugging at his glove and looked down to see a little Mobian crocodile girl smiling up at him, holding a photo of him and a pen. Chuckling, Sonic looked at the little girl's father standing near him for an okay. At the elder crocodile's nod, Sonic took the little crocodile's picture and autographed it. The little crocodile giggled as the blue hedgehog patted her head.

Glancing in Shadow's direction, Sonic was surprised to see him also giving an autograph to a little human boy. While the boy's mother looked a little uncomfortable standing close to the Ultimate Lifeform, her son was grinning as he looked at Shadow with wide awe-filled eyes.

Shadow was doing his best to look nonchalant as he handed the boy a signed photograph of him. Then the boy said something, something Sonic couldn't hear thanks to all the cars as they whizzed by, which made Shadow smile a little. The Ultimate Lifeform said something that Sonic couldn't quite catch then, to Sonic's amazement, he and the boy fist-bumped.

Then the timer reached 0, allowing the pedestrians to cross. Sonic and Shadow waited for all the pedestrians to cross and, once the intersection was clear, they resumed their race around the city.

Their finish line was the gilded marble plaque of Emerald Coast Luxury Suites. Both hedgehogs spotted Rouge and Omega waiting by the plaque and sped up.

"FIRST!" Sonic and Shadow shouted as they skidded to a stop, a cloud of dust blowing over them, their hands slapping the gilded marble at the exact same time.

"I won!" Sonic pumped his fist in the air.

"Not a chance! My hand hit the plaque first!" Shadow fired back.

"Mmmmm… no, I think I won this time, Shads," Sonic grinned.

"Omega, Rouge," Shadow turned to his teammates. "You saw us, right? Who won?" he asked, folding his arms across his chest.

"Well, hun…" Rouge rubbed her eyes. "If you two hadn't kicked up a dust cloud, I would have been able to actually _see_," she coughed out.

"VISIBILITY HAD BEEN REDUCED BY 70%. UNABLE TO COMPUTE ACCURATE RESULTS FOR YOUR RACE." Omega added.

Both hedgehogs noticed the dust clinging to the two and themselves and blushed.

"Yikes… Sorry 'bout that…" Sonic said, looking sheepish. Then he glanced at Shadow and smirked. "I still won that race, though," he insisted.

"Hmph! Yeah, right…" Shadow huffed, unable to stop the corner of his lip from curling up in a slight smile.

"Come on, you two." Rouge dusted herself off. "I found a restaurant that offers a gorgeous view of Emerald Coast that serves the best drinks," she said, slinging her arms over the two hedgehogs and leading them away from the dusty hotel plaque with Omega clunking behind them.

* * *

Sonic quickly smoothed down his quills as the restaurant came into view. While the site's close proximity to the ocean made him nervous, the fact that he was with Team Dark made him feel a little more at ease. At least if a tidal wave suddenly came rushing in, he could grab onto Omega and the robot could fly him to safety while Rouge carried Shadow…

Luckily for Sonic, there wasn't a sign of an earthquake, a tsunami, or any other natural disaster today. And he, Shadow, and Rouge could sit down and have a lovely meal while Omega recharged at a nearby power outlet near the restaurant's entrance.

"So how'd your mission go?" Sonic asked as he nibbled on a breadstick.

"Went off without a hitch. Honestly, those robbers were complete amateurs." Rouge smiled serenely as she sipped her cocktail. "Omega and I recovered the jewels they'd stolen from Casinopolis while Shadow rounded them up," she said, winking at her ebony teammate.

"Roundhouse kicked them a few times, Shads?" Sonic asked, bumping shoulders with the Ultimate Lifeform.

"A few times," replied Shadow, simultaneously wondering why he ended up sitting beside Sonic and not minding the light shoulder or hand bumps one bit. He looked at Rouge and smirked.

"Before I left, Rouge, I tasked you with returning all of the stolen jewels to the casino's owners. You did return _all _of the jewels, didn't you?"

Rouge took a long sip of her cocktail, almost draining her glass.

"_Rouge…_" Shadow sighed, holding out his hand.

"Oh, it's just one ruby. I'm sure they have hundreds more locked away in their vaults…" Rouge huffed, reaching into her purse and handing Shadow a single ruby the size of an egg.

"I guess I'm heading to Casinopolis after this," Shadow mumbled, stuffing the gemstone into his quills.

"Sweet. Mind if I come with? I haven't raced on their pinball tracks in like forever," Sonic piped up.

Shadow shrugged. "Do what you want," he told him just as the waiter arrived with their orders.

For a while, the three Mobians were content to eat in silence and ignore the stares from the other diners. When Sonic got up to use the bathroom, however, Rouge looked at Shadow and smiled.

"You and Blue are getting along really well," the bat remarked.

Shadow blinked, his forkful of steak raised halfway to his mouth. "Pardon?"

"Ever since we fought the Black Arms, you two have been spending a lot of time together," Rouge clarified. At her friend's confused look, she continued. "You guys race whenever you see each other. You're not as moody and surly towards him as you were in the past. You even _smile _at him, Shadow."

Shadow avoided her gaze, his cheeks turning pink. "He's okay company," he mumbled.

"More than okay, I'll bet," Rouge chuckled just as Sonic arrived.

"What's 'more than okay?'" asked the Blue Hedgehog.

Right as Shadow gave Rouge a warning glare, Tails came running into the restaurant. "Sonic! Am I glad I found you…" the two-tailed fox panted, clutching the Miles Electric in his hands.

"What's up, Tails?" Sonic noticed the worried look on his younger brother's face and the beeping of the Miles Electric.

"The Miles Electric picked up a distress signal. Eggman's active again and he's already built a factory on a new location," Tails said, showing the blinking Eggman logo on the Miles Electric's map interface.

"EGGMAN ON THE OFFENSIVE. ELIMINATE ALL OF EGGMAN'S ROBOTS. INITIATE ANTI-EGGMAN PROTOCOL." Omega announced, ripping his power plug out of the socket and stomping over to the team's table.

"I'll pay for the damages later!" Rouge called out to the bartender, calming down Omega before the robot started loading his guns.

"Guess we gotta go crack Egghead's latest scheme." Sonic took a big gulp of his soda. "Where's his new factory located?" he asked, facing Tails with an excited grin.

"Christmas Island."

And just like that, Sonic's grin was wiped off his face and replaced with a blank look. His hands unconsciously gripped the edges of the table as they started to itch. For a few moments, he was completely silent as he stared at the Miles Electric's screen and the red Eggman logo blinking on that now-familiar-looking landmass. Just the sight of the island's outline on the map made his blood boil.

Taking a deep breath, Sonic tore his gaze away from the Miles Electric and focused on Shadow. "Good luck, Shads," he said simply and got up.

"Wait, Sonic…" Tails blinked as his older brother placed a hundred Rings – his portion of the bill – on the table and began to leave.

"Sonic, what are you doing?" Tails' namesakes twirled anxiously behind him.

"I'm letting Team Dark handle this one, bud," Sonic said, ruffling the fox boy's head.

"You're not coming with us?" Shadow questioned him, raising an eye ridge.

"Nope," Sonic replied, popping the 'p' as he headed out of the restaurant.

"FINE WITH ME. ALL EGGMAN ROBOTS SHALL BE ELIMINATED." Omega declared.

Rouge and Shadow looked at each other, eyebrows raised. Since when did _Sonic the Hedgehog _turn down an opportunity to take down his _arch-nemesis_, Dr. Eggman?

"Something's not right," Rouge whispered to Shadow. Nodding, Shadow kept his eye on Sonic as the blue hedgehog left the restaurant, Tails right behind him.

* * *

"I could use a little help with developing upgrades for the new Chaos signature detector, Sonny boy. I'm not calling at a bad time, am I?"

"No problemo, Uncle Chuck. I'll be right over!" Sonic replied, hanging up and tucking his phone away in his quills.

"Sonic, wait!" Tails called out to him as he raced off in the direction of Mobotropolis. "What about Eggman? We gotta get to Christmas Island!" he shouted after the Blue Blur.

"Shadow and his team can handle it!" Sonic hollered back and put on a fresh burst of speed.

As he ran, Sonic dropped his cheerful façade and scowled. He had hoped to take his mind off of things by spending time with Shadow, Rouge, and Omega. But, now, the news of Eggman's latest scheme had re-opened old wounds.

'_It might do those monsters some good being plagued by Egghead's contraptions. Maybe then they'll learn that so-called "freaks" and "weirdos" can rise up to be either the greatest or the most dangerous…' _he thought bitterly as his feet carried him to Mobotropolis.

Team Dark could handle this new mission. They can go to Christmas Island without him.

Because he was never going back there.

'_I'm not going back. I'm __**never **__going back…' _Sonic thought as the words of his younger self came echoing back to him.

"_I am never going back, __**ever**__."_

* * *

**The next chapter will be written in a few days' time. Until then, please read and review :)**

**-GuardianDragon98**


	4. Chapter 4

**New chapter! Sorry this took so long! I'll keep this Author's Note short and just say that this will include Uncle Chuck :)**

**Enjoy!**

**IMPORTANT: I DO NOT OWN ANY OF THE SONIC CHARACTERS, BE IT FROM THE GAMES OR FROM THE COMICS!**

* * *

**Chapter 4**

"Mommy! Mommy!" a brown bear cub burst into his home, pale and shaking.

"Enzo!" Wendy took her little boy into her arms, gently running a hand through his soft brown fur. "Sweetie, what is it?" she asked softly while her husband, Arthur, looked up from his newspaper.

"Monsters! M-Monsters are coming!" Enzo stammered, his eyes welling up with tears.

Going outside, Wendy and Arthur saw what looked like a swarm of enormous black bees. Their neighbors all rushed out of their houses, mouths agape and pointing at the incoming horde.

"It's coming from the generator site!"

"Maybe it's just the Eggman's worker bots coming in to get supplies?"

The people of Christmas Island barely had time to ponder about anything else when the first shots were fired.

Suddenly, the swarm descended upon the village and black fire rained down. What the islanders thought to be worker bots turned out to be Eggman Badniks. But unlike other Badniks, which were usually modeled after animals and painted in bright garish colors, these Badniks were painted black and designed to look like grim robot sentinels. The frightened Mobians screamed and ran for cover as the Badniks unleashed volleys of black fireballs on them.

Arthur and Wendy rushed inside, barricading the doors and shutting all of the windows, and whisked Enzo off into their bedroom. The brown bear cub whimpered and snuggled close to his mother, tears welling up in his eyes. At the sound of explosions, he buried his face in her chest and screamed. The house shook with each explosion from outside and the family could hear the screams of their neighbors.

"It's okay… It's okay… We're safe… We're safe…" Wendy whispered, rocking her son in her arms, while Arthur reached under the bed and pulled out a baseball bat. Hardly a weapon that would stop an Eggman Badnik, but it was the best he got.

"You two go. Through there," Arthur whispered and pointed to the bedroom window. Standing in front of his wife and his son, he stood his ground as the explosions drew nearer.

Suddenly, the bedroom door was torn off its hinges, revealing an Eggman Badnik. Glowing red eyes leered at the bear family as it stomped towards them. In its egg-shaped torso was a transparent polycarbonate orb that contained a black fireball.

Wendy and Enzo screamed, scrambling for the bedroom window only to be greeted by a horrific sight.

Another Badnik, larger than the one standing in their doorway, smashed its way into the room.

"_**Well, look who we have here." **_Multo smiled from inside the Badnik, still possessing Dr. Eggman. The Doctor's body shuddered and slumped over the robot's control panel as Multo's ghostly form phased through the Badnik's metal armor. She held out a hand to the other Badnik, signaling it to stop. _**"Hi, Arthur," **_she purred, floating over to the older bear.

"S-Stay back!" Arthur yelled, swinging his bat at the phantom.

Mutlo merely yawned as the bat went through her. _**"I see you're still into baseball," **_she observed before grabbing the end of Arthur's bat as he swung again. At her touch, it caught fire. Arthur yelped and dropped it.

"_**Eyes forward, batter. You might miss this pitch!" **_Multo laughed, turning into a fireball and flying straight into Arthur's chest!

"Daddy!" Enzo screamed as his father crumpled to the floor.

"Arthur!" Wendy rushed to her husband's side, flinching when she touched his body and felt the heat radiating from it. Arthur's body convulsed on the floor as he let out weak gasps. His eyes rolled up into the back of his head until only the whites could be seen.

"No… No… N-n-no, p-please! Stop! Stop! Ahhhhhh!" Arthur screamed, tears falling from his eyes.

He saw his father beating him with the strap when he lost his first baseball game.

His mother dying in a hospital bed from cancer.

And then that night.

"_**Hmph! Not much to torture you with, huh?" **_Multo rose from Arthur's body, looking bored. She spared a glance at Wendy and Enzo, the two of them clutching each other tightly, and shrugged. _**"Don't worry. He's not hurt… physically, at least," **_she told them as Arthur sat up. True to her word, Arthur sported no injuries and just appeared dazed.

One look at the ghost, however, had Arthur screaming and backpedaling into the Badnik guarding the doorway.

"_**Join your brothers. We'll keep up the attacks for another hour," **_said Multo before heading back to her own Badnik.

"Y-You're a monster!" Enzo shouted, picking up a broken piece of plaster.

Multo merely waved her hand, sending the piece flying out of Enzo's hand where it landed harmlessly on the floor and out of his reach. Facing the child, she bared her teeth.

"_**Your dad saw me as a monster before, little boy. Why don't you tell him this?" **_Floating over to Enzo, Multo whispered into his ear,_** "Congratulations. You helped me turn into one." **_

Enzo felt like his knees had turned into jelly as Multo phased back into her Badnik, her form fusing with Dr. Eggman's body once again. The Doctor looked around, a woozy grumble of "What in the world…?" tumbling out of his lips before going rigid as Multo possessed him again.

"_**I have to say, Doc! Your Badniks are mechanical marvels!" **_Multo laughed in Eggman's voice as she piloted her Badnik out of the area.

Enzo let out a whimper, clinging to his mother as they helped his father up. Their house damaged, they staggered out of the hole Multo's Badnik had left and into a living nightmare.

Almost every house in their street was ablaze with black fire. Mobians staggered about, their eyes having a haunted look in them. Eerie laughter filled the air, sending everyone's hairs standing straight up and sending a chill through their spines.

The madness lasted for another hour before Multo flew up and screeched, the sound like a billion nails on a billion chalkboards. At this, all of the Badniks rose into the air and followed her out of the village.

Just before she disappeared from everyone's view, Multo sent out one last message.

"_**YOU PEOPLE WANTED A MONSTER? WELL, NOW YOU GOT ONE."**_

* * *

"Now these Chaos Drives here if we insert them into these slots…" Charles Hedgehog, affectionately known to all as Uncle Chuck, tapped the monitor as the five Chaos Drives glowed. "And feed the machine a few Power Rings, they should be able to detect irregular readings of Chaos Energy. Of course, everything organic on this planet emits small amounts of the stuff. But with this device, it'll be easier to detect the presence of other Chaos-sensitive beings and, in theory, make finding those Chaos Emeralds a lot easier," he explained to Sonic, who looked at the monitor keenly.

The Chaos signature detector was a simple-looking device. While resembling the Miles Electric, it was bulkier and had five slots – one on each corner and one at the top – for Chaos Drives and another pop-up slot at the bottom to store Power Rings. It was Uncle Chuck's passion project – a device he and his nephew had invented and continuously worked on for years ever since Sonic came into contact with the Chaos Emeralds and used their power to stop Dr. Eggman many times in the past.

"The faster we find the Emeralds, the faster my friends and I can kick Egghead's butt," Sonic declared, high-fiving his uncle. "This is great, Unk!"

"Thank me later, Sonny boy. This thing still needs fine-tuning. Mind getting me a screwdriver?" Uncle Chuck asked him, sitting down at his computer desk to work on coding.

Sonic headed to the back of his uncle's garage. He found a screwdriver among the various tools on one of the tables and was about to head back when he spotted something shining on another table in the corner. Three white candles were lit and slowly melting in their holders. Placed in front of them were some flowers and a small plate filled with tiny biscuits each topped with colorful icing.

"Iced gems?"

Looking up from his computer, Uncle Chuck saw Sonic staring at the little memorial he had made. Smiling sadly, he got up and walked over to his nephew. "I found a bag at a candy store a few days ago. I thought it'd be good to… you know… leave an offering for her because she enjoyed them so much," he said softly, placing a hand on Sonic's shoulder.

Nodding, Sonic took one iced gem topped with blue icing and popped it into his mouth. He smiled a little. "Not as good as how she and her mom used to make them," he murmured, the sugary sweetness of the meringue icing melting on his tongue evoking another memory.

* * *

_He kept his eyes and his nose focused on the entrance to the kitchen. The smell of butter and sugar wafted from it, making his mouth water._

_Feeling bold, he got up from the couch and raced towards the kitchen only to be turned around and gently pushed back._

_"Sorry, Sonic. But Doña Celia says that we have to wait for Mama to call us," she said with a smile, sitting on the couch with her sewing._

_Huffing, he sat back on the couch and watched as her nimble fingers plied needle and thread in stitching together a torn sleeve. He recognized the shirt she was mending. It was the brand new one her grandmother had bought last week, the purple one with butterflies printed in front - the one that the bullies at school had gotten torn and muddied on the first day she wore it. _

_Just thinking about how unhappy she had been on that day, the tears welling up in her eyes as she looked at her ruined shirtfront, made him want to gnash his teeth. One day, he would make them pay…_

_His dark thoughts were interrupted by a cheerful voice calling to them from the kitchen._

_"Kids! Snack time!"_

_"Yay!" They cheered, jumping off the couch._

_"Permission to enter the kitchen and eat snacks, Sergeant?" She suddenly stopped at the doorway and snapped to attention. There was a brief moment of silence before she grinned and saluted._

_"Sergeant Juni says, "Permission granted!" she told him and went into the kitchen ahead of him._

_"Thank you, Sergeant!" He crisply returned the salute to where he figured the sergeant was stationed and raced into the kitchen._

_Taking their seats, they 'oohed' and 'ahhed' at the large bowl of iced gems sitting in the middle of the peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and glasses of iced tea._

_"You can bring these home with you, Sonic."_

_His eyes widened as a small plastic container filled to the brim with blue and green iced gems was given to him by a smiling hedgehog woman wearing a light blue dress with a red apron. He looked across the table, green eyes wide with astonishment._

_She smiled at him as she sorted all of the purple and red iced gems onto her plate. "I hope you like them, Sonic..." she mumbled, her soft brown muzzle turning red._

_"Knowing you made them, I bet they're way past yummy!" he grinned at her, taking a handful of iced gems from the bowl and popping them into his mouth. Buttery and crunchy with a burst of sugary sweetness at each bite, just how they liked their iced gems._

_Looking at the container filled with iced gems that sported his colors, he just knew that these biscuits were going to be just as good, maybe even better, than the ones they were having right now._

* * *

A small crunching noise brought Sonic out of the bittersweet memory. His uncle had taken one iced gem from the pile.

"Mmmm… Yep, these aren't nearly as good as the ones she and Rosario used to bake," Uncle Chuck sighed. Sonic smiled and slung an arm over his uncle's shoulder.

"I miss them… I miss _her_…" Sonic whispered.

"I miss them too, Sonny boy," Uncle Chuck whispered back, hugging him.

"Sonic? You in there?"

Both hedgehogs stepped out of the garage to find the Tornado parked in front. Tails was there… and so were Amy, Knuckles, Blaze, Silver, Rouge, Omega, and Shadow.

"Hey, guys…" Sonic greeted them awkwardly.

"If I'd known you were all stopping by, I would have had time to whip up some chili dogs for all of you!" His uncle chuckled.

"No thank you, Uncle Chuck. You see, um…" Tails twiddled his thumbs. "We were just going to pick Sonic up for the next mission," he said.

"A mission that I decided to let Team Dark handle, little buddy." Sonic nodded to Shadow and his team. "Knowing them, they'll have old Egghead behind bars by the end of today," he said, already looking for a way out.

"Eggman's on the move again, is he? Where's he causing trouble this time?" Uncle Chuck frowned.

"Christmas Island. According to the map, it should be a three-hour flight from here," Tails replied.

For a second, Uncle Chuck went stock-still. His brow furrowed as he looked at the team assembled in front of his garage. "I see… Well, I don't think the Tornado's going to be big enough to carry all of you. The winds around Christmas Island can also change their speeds at a dime. You're going to need someone who knows those skies to pilot you through them," he stated.

"You talk like you've been there before, Uncle Chuck," Knuckles spoke up, arms folded.

Uncle Chuck glanced at his nephew, who was resolutely avoiding eye contact with him. "I have. Sonic and I used to live on that island," he admitted.

Tails and the others stared at the two hedgehogs, stunned speechless.

Amy was the first to recover from her shock. "Sonic, why don't you come with us?" she asked her crush.

"Since Christmas Island used to be your home, you will be more familiar with the locals in the area and can ask for their assistance in finding Eggman," Blaze chimed in.

"Nope. Still not going!" Sonic said, turning his back on the group.

"But, Sonic…" Silver managed to say before being startled as Sonic stamped his foot and snapped, "No! I am not going back!"

"Just give us a minute, Tails…" Uncle Chuck murmured, herding the young fox and the rest of the team away from the garage door before closing it.

* * *

"Sonic…"

The blue runner faced his uncle, ears pinned flat against his skull. Sighing, Uncle Chuck gently placed his hands on his nephew's shoulders. "I know you don't want to do this, especially today of all days. But letting Eggman do whatever he wants on the island will only lead to more destruction. Not just there, but other places as well," he told him.

"And…" Glancing at the table, with its candles and flowers and iced gems, Uncle Chuck continued. "I feel it's high time we go back there and pay our respects."

Sonic shook his head. "I can't, Unk. Not after what those _monsters_ did," he spat out, glaring at the floor.

Uncle Chuck sighed, letting go of Sonic. "All right. You've made your choice. I won't push you, Sonny boy. Just be careful with my equipment while I'm gone," he said and turned around.

"Gone? Where?" Sonic blinked, confused.

"Someone's got to fly your friends to Christmas Island. Might as well be me," Uncle Chuck said simply, heading for the garage door.

"Hold up there, Unk! You're going back?!" Sonic sprinted over to his uncle, stopping him from opening the garage door. "After everything those jerks did to you? You're seriously going back?" he asked, his eyes wide with disbelief.

"Believe me, Sonny boy, I'm not thrilled with the idea of returning." Uncle Chuck gave him a serious look. "But the Doctor's on the loose. We gotta stop him there before he gets too powerful," he said.

For a moment, uncle and nephew stared each other down.

Neither of them wanted to go back there. Too many bad memories were linked to that island. Too many people who had wanted them out of there.

But whether Uncle Chuck and Sonic liked it or not, the Doctor was on that island and needed to be stopped.

Finally, Sonic groaned. "Well, Uncle Chuck, if you're going, I can't let you go back to that place on your own," he said with a resigned slump of his shoulders.

Smiling slightly, Uncle Chuck opened the garage door and let his nephew address the team.

"All right. I'm going. But this is strictly a 'get in, get out' sort of mission. Don't get too friendly with the locals. As much as possible, avoid all contact with them. We go there. We beat Eggman. We go home. That's it," Sonic told his friends sternly, his back straight and his green eyes steely.

The rest of the team looked at each other, uneasy. It was rare that Sonic acted so seriously prior to going into battle with Eggman. Looking at the blue hedgehog, they felt something they never thought they would feel around the Blue Blur.

_Fear._

It looked as if just the mere mention of Christmas Island would make Sonic snap at them. Even Uncle Chuck looked reluctant to return to his and his nephew's old home.

'_But why?' _thought Shadow as he looked at his blue counterpart. Glancing at Rouge, he saw that the bat's wings were twitching slightly, the only sign of her feeling unnerved by Sonic's demeanor.

"I've got another plane we can use. Tails, make sure to stay close to me in the Tornado," Uncle Chuck advised the young fox before heading back to the garage to fetch his plane.

"Let's just get this over with…" Sonic muttered, heading to the Tornado and hopping onto its wing. If his friends gave him worried looks, he ignored them.

'_Sorry, past self. Looks like I'm gonna have to break my promise… Just head over there, find Eggman, and stop whatever scheme he's hatched so you can go home. Then you'll never have to set foot on that hellhole ever again,' _he told himself, praying to Chaos and to all possible deities out there that the mission would end quickly.

* * *

**You can imagine how much angrier Sonic's going to be in later chapters. As for him acting like a petulant child in this one, let's just say he has a good reason for wanting to stay away from Christmas Island.**

**As for the name Rosario, if you guys noticed that name in here, it's the name of the mother of Sonic's friend. I just wanted to clear that up.**

**Read and review!**

**-GuardianDragon98**


	5. Chapter 5

**Another update for the week. Enjoy!**

**NOTE: I DO NOT OWN ANY OF THE SONIC CHARACTERS, EXCEPT FOR MULTO.**

* * *

**Chapter 5**

"_**Woohoo! Good test run!" **_Multo whooped as she and her legion of Ghost Badniks returned to the launch bay located at the factory's East sector. Orbot and Cubot looked at each other and gulped. As scared stiff they were of the ghost, she had their creator held hostage and they weren't going to let Dr. Eggman get hurt, no matter how terribly he treated them.

"E-Excuse me, Ms. Multo…" Orbot stammered, approaching the possessed Dr. Eggman as he stepped out of Multo's special Ghost Badnik. The Doctor's red eyes flashed as Multo looked down at the trembling robot.

"W-would it be all right if we could have Dr. Eggman back?" Orbot felt like he was going to leak oil as the dark aura around the Doctor blazed brightly. Around him and Cubot, the ghosts started cackling and circling around them. Then, with a growl, Multo snapped the Doctor's fingers. In an instant, the ghosts disappeared in puffs of smoke.

"_**A few minutes. I need to speak with the Doctor anyway," **_said Multo to the two little robots.

All of a sudden, the dark aura around Eggman vanished along with the red glow in his eyes. Orbot and Cubot backed away as a black fireball emerged from the Doctor's chest. With a groan, Eggman fell to his knees, clutching his chest.

"Boss!" Cubot yelped, he and Orbot floating over to the Doctor and helping him stand up.

Shaking his head, Eggman looked around – taking in the design of the Ghost Badniks – before his gaze landed on Multo, the ghost glaring at him with her arms crossed.

"YOU!" Regaining his wits, Eggman jabbed a finger at her. "You stole my coffee mug, wreaked havoc with my lair's security systems, and possessed me!" he shouted.

"_**Guilty as charged." **_Multo raised her hands up mockingly in surrender. _**"But you forgot something, Doctor," **_she said, gesturing to the entire launch bay filled with Ghost Badniks. _**"I helped you bring your latest creations to life **_**and **_**performed a successful test run on them. Don't try to deny it… you **_**enjoyed **_**hearing those villagers scream for mercy," **_she added, grinning.

Grumbling, Eggman turned away from her. "Okay, I admit… Your idea of using ghosts as power sources is ingenious and environmentally-friendly," he muttered, pacing around the larger Badnik he and Multo had used.

"_**It's always a good idea to find alternative sources of energy that reduce one's carbon footprint," **_Multo said, nodding.

"But I have to ask…" Facing Multo, Eggman folded his arms across his chest and tapped his foot on the floor. "Why are you targeting the villagers?" he asked.

Multo's pure white eyes suddenly turned black with red irises and black pupils, and the air became sweltering hot. Sweating, Eggman waved his hands in front of his face as he scrambled for the right words to defuse the situation. "I-I mean, I'm fine with you terrorizing them! I wanted to set my robots on them before you came along anyway! I'm just, you know, curious!" he rambled.

For a painfully long minute, the heat almost making the Badniks and Orbot and Cubot glow red hot, Multo stared at Eggman. Finally, with a sigh, Multo shut her eyes and the heat dissipated. Opening her eyes, now back to their usual all-white color, Multo drifted closer to the Doctor. _**"Those villagers deserve everything that's coming to them. That's all you need to know," **_she said lowly, making Eggman nod feverishly.

A ghost orb flying into the launch bay broke the tension between the two. Eggman cried out in shock, flailing away from the orb. Multo cocked her head at the orb then gently held it in her hands. The orb hummed and buzzed and Multo listened to it, nodding slightly.

"What's it saying?" Cubot asked.

"_**It's a he, actually," **_Multo corrected him then looked at the Doctor. _**"And he just reported spotting two planes approaching the island."**_

Eggman's face turned red with rage. "It's that annoying blue hedgehog and his friends again! Robots!" he managed to bellow before shrieking as he suddenly started floating off the floor.

"_**Oh no, Doctor. I'm running the operation here. And I'm not letting your robots touch him," **_Multo said sternly, watching Orbot and Cubot frantically hop up and down to grasp the Doctor's ankles to pull him back down to Earth.

"Sonic?! But he's the enemy!" Eggman protested as he helplessly flailed about. By now, he and his two robot lackeys were floating up towards the ceiling.

"**Your **_**enemy. Not mine." **_Multo floated up to him. Eyes narrowed, she grabbed the Doctor's jacket front and pulled him towards her. _**"And I saw everything you've done to him: all those traps, turning him into a Werehog, that whole Solaris fiasco. Just for all those times you've hurt him..."**_

Eggman nearly wet his pants as Multo's eyes turned black and her blood-red pupils drilled into him. _**"When I'm done with you, I'm gonna make sure that there's a special place for you in hell and you're going straight there!" **_she snarled before letting the villain go and dropping him.

Orbot and Cubot screamed as they and the Doctor hurtled towards the ground. Then, just before they hit the floor, the Doctor's body was surrounded by a dark flame that didn't burn and gently floated back down to the floor.

"_**Everyone, pay attention!"**_

Orbot and Cubot started backing away towards the exit as Multo's ghost army reappeared.

Multo, now possessing Eggman once again, turned to face the ghosts. _**"**__**Intruders are coming to spoil all the fun. There's a blue hedgehog with them named Sonic…" **_She paused as the ghost orb who initially reported the sighting whispered something into her ear. _**"…and an older blue hedgehog named Uncle Chuck," **_she added, her eyes widening in surprise. Regaining her composure, she went on with addressing her troops. _**"On no account are any of you allowed to harm them – whether through your Badniks or through possessing them. If I hear word of any of you hurting those two hedgehogs, you **_**will **_**answer to me," **_she threatened, sending a ripple of fear through all the spirits assembled.

The ghosts all nodded their assent, making Multo smile. _**"Great. Now, let's get ready!" **_she said, clapping the Doctor's hands.

* * *

**Read and review, please. Let me know what you think about Multo. Do you think she's a good villain? And why do you think she doesn't want to hurt Sonic and Uncle Chuck? Leave me your guesses :)**

**-GuardianDragon98**


	6. Chapter 6

**Long time, no see! Get excited, folks, because the Sonic Movie is only a couple of weeks away! I am so ready to see the Blue Blur on the silver screen. In the meantime, enjoy this new chapter!**

**NOTE: I DO NOT OWN ANY OF THE SONIC CHARACTERS. ALL RIGHTS GO TO SEGA!**

* * *

**Chapter 6**

_Regardless of the importance or urgency of any project his colleagues back in Mobotropolis tasked him with, Charles "Chuck" Hedgehog would put down everything whenever his nephew needed him._

_So when Sonic came into his workshop with a large gash on his forehead, Chuck dropped his wrench and focused all of his attention on the sniffling blue hedgehog. His four-year-old nephew whimpered as he was scooped up and gently seated on the workbench._

_"Shhh… There, there, Sonny boy. This will make you feel better," Chuck murmured, gently dabbing a wet cloth over the bleeding gash. To his relief, it wasn't a deep wound that would require stitches. Cleaning it, however, was still quite painful for young Sonic as he flinched when his uncle started applying the disinfectant._

_"Ow! Unk, it stings!" the little blue hedgehog cried out._

_"I know, I know. But it'll only hurt for a lil' bit…" Chuck soothed him before applying the gauze bandage on the wound. "There we go. Just keep that bandage on and you'll be right as rain." He smiled warmly at his nephew._

_"Okay…" Sonic's ears flattened against his head and he looked up at his uncle, emerald green eyes welling up with tears. "Uncle Chuck… do you think I'm bad?" he whispered, his words wiping the smile right off of his uncle's face._

_Chuck shook his head. "No, Sonny boy. You're not bad. Now, who would tell you such a thing?" he asked, his blue eyes gazing worriedly at his nephew._

_Sonic looked at his little red sneakers, swinging his legs back and forth. "Everybody. Mrs. Jessie at school, kids on the playground, people shopping at the stores. They keep making mean faces at me when I'm around. And they don't like it when I run…" he mumbled quietly, tears trickling down his cheeks._

_Chuck sighed heavily. As much as he wanted to, he couldn't be around Sonic 24/7 to protect him from the villagers of Christmas Island and their cruelty. Honestly, he couldn't understand why they seemed to hate his dear nephew purely because of what he looked like and what he could do. Sure there weren't a lot of blue hedgehogs born with super-speed like his Sonny boy. But that didn't give them the right to hurt his nephew or make him feel like an outcast!_

_"You're not a bad person, Sonic." Gently, Chuck cupped his nephew's face in his hands. Once the little boy was focused on him, he said, "You're a good person with the purest heart I've ever seen. Everybody else… they just haven't gotten to know you well enough to see that." As he wiped away the tears._

_That cheered up his nephew and Chuck felt the anger in his heart dissipate as Sonic smiled at him. "Now, Sonic, I need you to be honest with me, okay?" he looked at his nephew, who gave him a nod. "Can you tell me who hurt you?" he asked gently._

_Biting his lip, Sonic nodded. "It was Lloyd from school," he answered._

_"Lloyd Greav?" Chuck asked, getting an affirming nod from his nephew. It took all of the elder hedgehog's mental fortitude to not look upset in front of Sonic. The Greavs owned a little general store located near the village plaza. And their relationship with Chuck and Sonic was… difficult, to say the least._

_"Lloyd threw a rock at me after I went to his Mommy and Daddy's store to buy candy…" Sonic told his uncle then frowned. "I said 'please' to Mr. and Mrs. Greav and gave them my money but they didn't give me any. They said bad kids don't get candy…"_

_Chuck had heard enough. Standing up, he helped his nephew off the workbench and grasped his hand. "Well, I'm not letting those bullies get away with all of this. Now, Sonny boy, we're going to the Greavs' general store so they can apologize to you. So stay close to me, all right?" he told his nephew firmly._

_"Yes, Unk," Sonic replied, squeezing his uncle's hand. Chuck could see the fear in his nephew's eyes and took a few calming breaths. He wasn't going to lash out at the Greavs. Just give them a few stern words and firmly request them to apologize to his nephew._

_But, as they left their house, Chuck made a mental note. When this was over, and Sonic was off adventuring around the island, he would march right over to the Greavs and give them a piece of his mind… and more than a few choice words._

* * *

A loud beeping brought Uncle Chuck out of his reminiscing. "Here we go…" He sighed, switching on his plane's radio. "Tails, the wind's starting to shift. Keep the Tornado close by and follow my instructions. Over!" he said to the small microphone attached to his earpiece.

"Copy that, Uncle Chuck!" Tails replied as he adjusted his goggles. The Tornado was flying about three miles behind Chuck's airplane, the Blue Typhoon, and both planes were about to enter a rough patch of air. Tightening his grip on the yoke, Tails alerted his passengers.

"Everyone, hold on!"

Sonic crouched down on the Tornado's wing, his hands gripping the metal. Down below, he could hear Amy and Knuckles' shouts as the winds began to buffet them and make the Tornado list to the left. Looking ahead, he saw the Blue Typhoon riding the wind currents and smiled. He knew his uncle would get his plane through this wind shear. Compared to the Tornado, the Blue Typhoon was larger and had the advantage of being a fully enclosed aircraft. Shadow, Rouge, Omega, Blaze, and Silver were riding with Uncle Chuck and they were in good hands.

"Sonic, how are you holding up?!" Tails yelled over the howling wind as he strained his ears to hear Uncle Chuck's instructions on how to fly out of the air currents.

"A-okay, buddy!" Sonic shouted, giving his little brother a thumbs up.

"Sheesh… With wild wind currents like this blowing around the island, I don't blame you and Uncle Chuck for not wanting to come back here. This is insane!" Knuckles grunted, his dreadlocks whipping around his face as the Tornado emerged from the current.

'_It's not the wild weather here that makes me not want to come back, Knux…' _thought Sonic, gritting his teeth as his hands started itching again.

"Sonic, be careful! You gotta hold on with both hands!" Amy cried out, seeing the Blue Blur scratch at his left hand with his right.

"Whoops! Sorry, Ames!" Sonic said quickly, his scowl quickly turning into a smile as he placed both hands back on the wing.

Inside the Blue Typhoon, Uncle Chuck breathed a sigh of relief when the alarms from the Blue Typhoon disappeared. It looked like it was going to be smooth sailing for now. "Blue Typhoon's made it to the other side. Status of the Tornado, over?" he asked.

Tails' cheery response of "We're okay, Uncle Chuck! Thanks for assisting me! Whew… I gotta tell you, I may be a pilot but those currents could challenge even the experts! Over!" sounded into his ears.

"Good work, Tails. But stay vigilant. We're nearing the island and that's when things start to get a little wild. I'll radio in again the second the winds change, over," Uncle Chuck replied, shutting off the radio then looking over his shoulder at his passengers. "Everyone all right?" he called out.

"We're fine, Uncle Chuck!" Silver said cheerfully, securely strapped into his seat. Then, he looked at Blaze, who was seated next to him, and gulped. "Although, would there be any chance that the Blue Typhoon has a fire extinguisher?" he asked.

Blaze had the armrests of her chair in a death grip, her claws poking out of her gloves and shredding the upholstery. Her seat was already beginning to smolder, the fire cat breathing heavily as the seconds ticked by. "I'm all right… I'm all right… Everything is fine… Everything is fine…" she breathed out, her eyes squeezed shut.

Smoke started rising from Blaze's chair and Silver quickly got out of his seat and floated around the Blue Typhoon in search of a fire extinguisher.

"DANGER. DANGER. FIRE HAZARD. MUST LOCATE AIRCRAFT SPRINKLER SYSTEM," said Omega, following Silver as the ivory hedgehog frantically looked around for anything that could subdue the inevitable fire Blaze was about to ignite.

"So you think Blue's hiding something about that island we're heading to?" Rouge asked, she and Shadow ignoring the potential disaster happening on the aisle opposite to theirs.

"Obviously. Did you see how tense he was?" Shadow glanced over at the pilot's cockpit section. Uncle Chuck was frantically telling Silver where the fire extinguisher was all while trying to keep Omega from hacking into the plane's systems _and _continue flying the plane. He had to admit that the older blue hedgehog's multitasking skills were incredible.

Shadow returned his attention to Rouge, the bat giving him a questioning look. "He was reluctant to take on this mission and even offered it to us. My guess is that Christmas Island holds bad memories for him," he told her, his eyes then drifting to gaze out the window.

For the first time ever, Shadow found himself worrying about Sonic. The blue hedgehog's reluctance to embark on this mission to Christmas Island to stop the Doctor was troubling. His sudden grouchiness raised even more red flags. Shadow could still feel the unease he had felt when Sonic told him and the rest of the group that their trip to the island would be an all-business type of situation. The warning to not interact with any of the locals just screamed _'I have bad memories tied to that island and I don't want to talk about it.'_

"Bad memories…" Rouge's teal eyes widened. "You don't think he was bullied back there?" she asked, putting a gloved hand to her lips.

"Maybe," Shadow replied, shrugging. While he didn't say it out loud to Rouge, he sincerely hoped that he was wrong.

Given how kind and cheerful Sonic usually was, even to villains like Eggman, the thought of him being bullied as a kid…

It just seemed… unreal.

* * *

_"Stay away from my children, y-you… abomination!"_

_Sonic flinched back as he cowered before an angry mother parrot. Behind her, two parrot fledglings stared at him with wide eyes._

_"I-I just want to give them their ball back…" Five-year-old Sonic said, holding up a yellow and green rubber ball to the mother parrot. He'd been playing in the sandbox all by himself when the ball had bounced into the sandcastle he was making. For the past few minutes, he'd been trying to give the ball back to the two parrots but they kept running away from him. _

_And then their mother arrived and started yelling at him._

_He had no idea what 'abomination' meant, but Sonic had a feeling that it meant 'bad.' His ears folded back and his knees started shaking. He didn't do anything wrong. He was just trying to give some kids their ball back. Why was their mom angry at him?_

_The other kids, who had kept their distance, were now crowded around him and the three birds. Sonic could barely hear their whispers and murmurs over the sound of his own heartbeat as he started to panic. _

_The mother parrot glared down at him, her brilliant yellow crest standing up, before swiping the ball from him. Turning her back to the young hedgehog, she ruffled her plumage and herded her children away from the playground. "Stay away from that blue hedgehog, kids. He's bad news," she said, not bothering to keep her voice down._

_The two parrot fledglings looked back at Sonic, their beaks curved up in mean smiles._

_"Freak," one parrot whisper-shouted to him._

_"Weirdo," the other mouthed._

_Sonic sniffed, furiously rubbing at his eyes. 'Big boys don't cry… Big boys don't cry…' he said to himself before hearing the other kids._

_"Ha! That'll teach him!"_

_"Oh, look! The little blue freak's crying!"_

_"Crybaby!"_

_Sonic's spines bristled as he looked around him. The kids had surrounded him, caging him in. There was Lloyd Greav, the honey badger who had thrown a rock at him. Arthur Beariwick was there, too, along with Hughie Lizard, Elsie Pandara, Jayden Doggstar, and Karla Clawser. He whimpered and tried to leave but Hughie pushed him as he tried to break out._

_"Where you goin' Freak?" Hughie taunted him._

_Arthur snickered and swung his baseball bat at Sonic, landing a clean hit on the little hedgehog's stomach and sending him sprawling into the dirt. Sonic screamed and rolled away, avoiding another hit._

_"The Freak wanted to be a good boy and give somebody their ball back," Lloyd taunted Sonic as he got up._

_"He's not a good boy. He's a no-good blue weirdo!" Elsie sneered._

_"I-I'm not a weirdo!" Sonic protested, tears welling up in his bright green eyes._

_"You are a weirdo, Freak," Jayden drawled, a smug grin on his face._

_Karla suddenly growled and lunged at Sonic, claws poised to strike. With a yelp, Sonic turned around and ran. He ran and ran, the tears streaming down his face, while the kids kept laughing._

_"Go home, Freak!"_

_"You're not wanted here!"_

_'I don't mean to be a freak… I don't want to be a freak… I'm **not** a freak…' Sonic thought, choking on a sob as he kept running._

* * *

Sonic glared at the ground, still perched on the Tornado's wing. _'I can't believe I'm back… Oh, past self, I hope you can forgive me…' _he thought before Tails' voice brought him out of his depressing thoughts.

"Sonic, come on."

Taking a deep breath, Sonic jumped down from the plane. As soon as his feet touched the ground, he shuddered. He felt like he was standing on cursed ground. Given his history with the island, he might as well have been. Suddenly, an icy dread filled Sonic's bones and his spines instinctively flexed up. Looking around, Sonic's eyes widened as he saw faint wisps of gray smoke and faintly glowing orbs of light floating about.

Christmas Island was harboring spirits. Lots of them.

"Sonic…"

The Blue Blur relaxed a bit when he felt his Uncle Chuck's hand on his right shoulder. Looking at his uncle, Sonic could see that he, too, was tense. While Uncle Chuck couldn't see them, he was sensitive enough to feel the presence of the spirits. "How many, Sonny boy?" the elder hedgehog whispered to him, his blue eyes darting around anxiously.

"Far too many to count, Unk… The whole island's infested…" Sonic murmured, a chill going up his spine. Uncle Chuck sucked in a breath and squeezed his nephew's hand. Looking back at his friends, Sonic noticed that they were too busy checking out the island's local flora and fauna to notice his inner turmoil.

When they had approached Christmas Island from the air, the first thing Amy, Knuckles, and Tails had seen was the ginormous pine tree located smack dab in the center of the island. Over the radio, Chuck had explained that the island was famous for its pine trees – many of which were shipped to different areas around the world to be used as Christmas trees. The island had one particularly tall pine tree growing in the center. It was dubbed "The Century Tree" and was believed to be a hundred years old. Every December, it was decorated with every islander contributing a special set of homemade ornaments and would be the center of every family's Christmas celebration on the island.

It wasn't the Christmas season yet but the sight of the 100-year-old pine tree was incredible to the rest of the team. The Tornado and the Blue Typhoon had landed on an old air cargo strip that was surrounded by more of Christmas Island's famous pine trees as well as several blackberry bushes. Flickies occasionally flew down to grab a few berries and the air smelled deliciously piney.

"Wow…" Silver breathed out, looking at all of the pine trees. "This place is beautiful!"

Blaze took in deep draughts of the pine-scented air, the color returning to her face.

"I wouldn't mind spending Christmas here," Rouge remarked, taking to the air to stretch her wings.

"All right. The Mayor should be here any minute," Tails announced to the team.

Sonic's ear flicked. "The mayor?" he repeated, confused.

"Yeah. She was the one who sent the distress signal. She's offered to take us to the village," Tails told him.

"_She_?" Uncle Chuck blinked.

"Hello! Is Tails Prower here?"

"Oh no…" Sonic groaned, spotting a lioness approaching them. Dressed in a white blouse, a navy blue blazer, light brown pencil skirt and high heels, the mayor of Christmas Island was an imposing figure. But when she got to the group and started greeting them, her bubbly laugh and soft pink eyes were a stark contrast to her claws and teeth.

Looking at the Tornado, Sonic thought of going there and hiding in the cockpit. But, just as he took one step back, the lioness spotted him.

"_Maurice_?"

There was a sharp intake of breath from Sonic as his friends all looked at him. He mustered all of his self-control to not snap back and offered the mayor a tight smile. "Hey, _Ashley_... Been a while," he forced out, aware that he could hear Knuckles and Silver snickering behind him.

The lioness shook hands with him, beaming. "Oh my gosh, it _is _you! It's been too long! So _you're _the famous Sonic the Hedgehog in the news? Oh, wow, I can't believe it! I didn't recognize you now that you're all grown up" she exclaimed.

"I find that hard to believe, considering that I was the only _blue hedgehog born with super-speed _living on this island," Sonic replied, pulling his hand away. His emerald green eyes bored into Ashley's light pink ones. "And I've been calling myself Sonic ever since we were kids. Did you forget?" he asked flatly.

Ashley's tail twitched and she blinked at Sonic, perturbed. "O-oh, yeah… Now I remember… Yes, you… you always kept telling everyone that Maurice wasn't a suitable name for you and that you preferred to go by that nickname of yours… How silly of me to forget…" she said, bubbliness all gone.

Sonic merely scoffed and folded his arms over his chest, looking away. For a brief second, the whole team thought he and Shadow had suddenly swapped minds.

Shadow, himself, was shocked at Sonic's attitude shift. He looked at Uncle Chuck, hoping for an explanation, but the elder hedgehog was also looking at Ashley with disdain.

Looking at the rest of the team, Ashley coughed and mumbled, "Well, I best take you all to the village so you can begin investigations…" before taking the lead and started leading the group away from the airstrip.

Sonic felt a light tap on the shoulder. Uncle Chuck gave him a gentle smile and mouthed, "_Breathe,_" making him relax as he let out a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding. "Same old Ashley…" muttered Sonic, glaring at the lioness' back.

"She must have taken over when her father retired," Uncle Chuck guessed.

"Great. Nepotism." Sonic grimaced.

Then he heard Knuckles laughing.

"Maurice?" The echidna could hardly breathe as he laughed and pointed at his spiky blue friend. "Y-your name… is… _Maurice?" _he wheezed out.

Rolling his eyes, Sonic started following Ashley to the village. "Come on, guys. Egghead's scheme isn't gonna crack itself," he said curtly.

Knuckles merely grinned. "Whatever you say… Maurice," he snickered, prompting Rouge to slap him upside on the head.

"You have no sense of tact, Big Red," the bat sighed, motioning to the rest of the group to follow.

"So Sonic isn't his real name?" Silver asked Uncle Chuck, the elder hedgehog chuckling.

"Heaven knows why his parents decided to call him that. But my boy's always felt like that name didn't suit him. Came up with the name 'Sonic' himself. Once he started calling himself that, there was no going back. I didn't even question him and just went along with it," Uncle Chuck replied.

Tails felt his namesakes twist up as they walked. Sonic kept ahead of the group, his arms remaining crossed. He could see his big brother's spines bristling and he couldn't help but worry. "Uncle Chuck, what's going on?" he asked. When the elder hedgehog raised his eyebrow, he decided to elaborate. "You and Sonic have been on edge ever since we left. Now that we're on the island, Sonic looks like he'd rather be anywhere but here," he said as his tails twisted themselves up.

"SONIC'S STRESS LEVELS ARE UP BY NINETY PERCENT," Omega added, scanning the blue hedgehog.

"The island seems peaceful. Is there something on the island that's stressing him out?" Amy wondered out loud.

Uncle Chuck sighed as the rest of the team all looked to him for an explanation. "Sonic and I left Christmas Island for a reason. That's all I want to say about it," he said quietly, looking down at the ground.

Even more confused, Amy, Blaze, Knuckles, Omega, Rouge, Shadow, Silver, and Tails stayed quiet as they continued walking.

Then Blaze spoke up. "Are there… bad memories tied to this place?" she asked Uncle Chuck, startling when Sonic suddenly answered.

"There are." The Blue Blur looked back at the lavender feline, his green eyes cold. "Far too many," he said emotionlessly before focusing his attention back on Ashley as she led them to the village, not noticing the troubled and bewildered expressions on his friends' faces.

* * *

**As you can see, Uncle Chuck's also had a hard life on Christmas Island. But the big beef he and Sonic have with Christmas Island… that's still a mystery to the team. **

**And, yes, in this story, Sonic's birth name is Maurice.**

**The next chapter's going to include another flashback that will answer one big question about Sonic – why he is afraid of water.**

**Until then, read and review ;)**

**-GuardianDragon98**


	7. Chapter 7

**Well! This is certainly the longest chapter I've written for this story so far. My apologies if this took so long. I'll keep this note short and let you guys get on with reading.**

**Enjoy!**

**NOTE: I DO NOT OWN ANY OF THE SONIC CHARACTERS, EXCEPT FOR MY OCs.**

* * *

**Chapter 7**

"_**Mhm… I see. All right. Thanks for letting me know," **_Multo said to one of the spirits she had sent out earlier to spy on Sonic and his friends. Adjusting Eggman's blue-tinted glasses, Multo surveyed her Ghost Badniks. Each one was manned by a ghost that saluted her as she walked past. She smiled as she inspected her troops. Long ago, she would have balked at the idea of summoning dark spirits. Now, feeling the pain and anger they felt, she was happy to reach out to them and give them a chance at revenge.

"_**We move out at dusk," **_she crisply ordered before leaving the launch bay.

Orbot and Cubot gulped as the possessed Dr. Eggman returned to the Master Control room they had just finished cleaning. Then, to their amazement, Multo had Eggman smile kindly at them.

"_**Good job, you two. Hey, as a reward, do you guys want to come with me when we launch our second strike?" **_asked Multo.

"R-really?" Cubot stammered. The Doctor had _never _let him and Orbot go to one of the battles with Sonic before.

"_**Yeah!" **_Eggman's red eyes flashed behind his glasses. _**"It'll be fun!" **_said Multo, grinning.

"I-If that's what you want, Ms. Multo, then we're honored," Orbot replied, bowing graciously. He rubbed the back of his head and shyly added, "You're much nicer than Dr. Eggman…"

"_**Awww, thank you, Orbot," **_Multo said, patting the round-headed robot. Turning to the main computer, Multo scanned the map of Christmas Island. The Doctor's lips turned up in a smile as the ghost possessing him selected her next target.

"_**This spot will do."**_

* * *

Sonic listened with half an ear as Ashley toured him and his friends around the village. The village hadn't changed much. The same shops were still there, albeit with updated signage and décor. The schoolhouse was still up and running. Lumber and timber shops selling the highest quality pine planks and wood blocks for construction and wood carving dotted the streets. And the villagers, albeit surprised to see him and his friends, continued to go about their lives cheerfully. But Sonic could see the fear in their eyes, the unasked questions, and it made his skin crawl.

In the very center of the village grew The Century Tree. The 100-year-old pine tree was taller than the rest, reaching up towards the clouds at a staggering 200 meters tall, and had a trunk wide enough for at least ten Mobians to encircle it with their hands linked together.

"Our beloved island's pride and joy." Ashley turned to the awestruck newcomers. "The Century Tree's truly a magnificent sight whatever season. But if you come here to Christmas Island during Winter, well… it becomes the most magical thing you've ever seen with everyone's decorations," she purred.

"And everyone on the island gets to decorate the tree?" Tails asked, leaning back to gape at the colossal pine tree.

"Mhm. It's a tradition for every villager to contribute at one set of decorations at the start of the Christmas season to decorate The Century Tree's boughs," Ashley told him.

Uncle Chuck scoffed, tapping his foot on the ground. "Your father used to go around the village, asking for decorations. Funny… he never seemed to stop by our residence," he said gruffly. Ignoring everybody's stares, he glanced at Sonic. "Ever recall old Leonidas coming over to our house and asking for _our_ decorations, Sonny boy?" he asked.

"Nope. He always skipped our place, Unk." Sonic sent Ashley a loaded look. "I wonder why?" he asked.

Shadow and Rouge looked at the Mayor, eye ridges raised. Ashley fidgeted in front of the group, coughing awkwardly into a handkerchief she pulled out from her skirt pocket. "Well, we were a bit concerned that some of your decorations might have been… potential fire hazards, Sir Charles. I-I mean, given your profession as a mechanic, we assumed that you built some rather… quirky decorations for your Christmas Tree. We were just making sure that no potential fire hazards would be placed on The Century Tree," she explained, her eyes not quite meeting Sonic's or Uncle Chuck's.

Both hedgehogs merely gave her blank looks.

"But Uncle Chuck's never made Christmas decorations that could pose a fire hazard before…" Amy whispered to Knuckles.

Knuckles frowned, watching the two hedgehogs and the lioness. "If you ask me, it sounds like they _didn't want_ to include Uncle Chuck and Sonic in the island's traditions," he muttered.

Blaze and Silver looked at each other, brows knit together in worry. Sonic's cryptic answer to the former's question earlier was beginning to make more sense…

Sensing the tension in the air, Tails decided to steer the team back on track. "Thank you for the tour, Ms. Ashley. Now, can you please tell us about the factory that was built on the island a few months ago? You said in your message that that's where all of those robots that attacked the village came from," he piped up.

"Yes, of course!" Ashley perked up. "My PA, Karla, is waiting for us at my office. I'll be able to better explain the situation there," she said, already leading the group out of the village plaza.

'_Great… Karla Clawser's her PA… Figures she'd work for her fellow big cat,' _Sonic thought, rolling his eyes, as he followed Ashley over to the Village Hall… where he got another unpleasant surprise.

"Maurice the Hedgehog, as I live and breathe!"

Lloyd Greav grinned as he greeted Ashley and her guests. He smiled broadly at Sonic and Uncle Chuck then hollered to a blond-furred dog and dark green lizard, "Hey, Jayden! Hughie! Look who decided to come and visit!"

'_Oh Chaos, not them again…' _Sonic grimaced as Jayden Doggstar and Hughie Lizard approached the group.

"Well, well, well, this is a surprise. Long time, no see, Maurice," Hughie said, his bright yellow eyes glimmering.

"Don't call him that, Hugh! He goes by Sonic now, remember?" Jayden chuckled, ears perky. "My kid Rody's a huge fan of yours. He's gonna be bouncing off the walls when he finds out that his hero's here in the flesh!"

"Oh, are you Sonic's childhood friends? It's so nice to meet you!" Amy giggled.

"We were classmates, Ames," Sonic said, looking at Lloyd, Jayden, and Hughie coldly. Then, he smiled. "Gotta admit. Seeing you guys is sure bringing back memories. Oh, but where's Arthur?"

At Sonic's question, his three former classmates went rigid.

"Arthur's laid up in bed. He got hurt pretty bad during the attack a few hours ago…" Lloyd revealed.

"His wife, Wendy, and little Enzo are at the hospital with him. Poor little cub was scared stiff when we visited them," Jayden added.

"That's why we're so glad that someone's come to help us. We're truly indebted to you and your friends, Mau-Sonic." Hughie bowed low to the Blue Blur and his team.

Sonic tapped his foot, taking all of this information in. A memory of Arthur hitting him with a baseball bat when they were kids flashed through his mind and he balled his hands into fists. As he looked at the three other tormentors of his childhood, he felt all the anger and resentment he'd buried deep within his heart bubbling up.

He wanted to say, "Serves you all right," but, knowing that his friends wouldn't like that, he settled for something else.

"Wow, I never thought I'd get to repay you guys for everything you've done for me." With a smile that didn't reach his eyes, Sonic went over to Hughie, Jayden, and Lloyd. "Hey, remember that one time you guys threw me into the ocean while I was wearing a muzzle to see if I could swim while wearing one?" he asked, nonchalantly slinging his arms over Lloyd and Jayden.

"What?!" Amy shrieked, looking at the badger, dog, and lizard in horror.

Knuckles and Tails were pretty sure that their eyes had widened to the size of plates while Omega's eyes glowed red, the robot's metal fingers clenching together.

Silver gasped in shock while Blaze looked imploringly to Uncle Chuck, pleading with her eyes to say that what her blue friend just said wasn't true. The Princess of the Sol Dimension went rigid as she saw Uncle Chuck glaring daggers at Hugh, Jayden, and Lloyd.

While his childhood bullies couldn't speak, Sonic laughed. "Oh, that was such a fun experiment! I nearly drowned that day, you know. And I've been scared of the ocean and water in general ever since," he said, squeezing Lloyd and Jayden's shoulders tightly.

"Sonic, we're…" Hughie managed to say before the blue hedgehog continued.

"Sorry? No worries! Let bygones be bygones, right?" Sonic locked eyes with Hughie and smiled. "Besides, I have to thank you guys for that. Why, if you hadn't done that, I wouldn't have…"

Alarm bells rang in Rouge's ears when Sonic suddenly trailed off and started shaking. To her surprise, Shadow reached out to the Blue Blur first.

"Sonic?"

The blue hedgehog in question zipped out of the Village Hall's lobby so fast that papers flew off of all the desks and fluttered down to the floor like snowflakes.

"Sonic! Sonny boy, wait!" Uncle Chuck shouted, running after his nephew.

Ashley immediately called for workers to clean the place up. While Hughie, Jayden, and Lloyd scrambled to help the mayor, Amy, Blaze, Knuckles, and Silver distanced themselves from the trio. Their eyes were narrowed as they picked up papers and glared at the three villagers.

Now they knew why Sonic didn't want to come back here.

"Omega, do me a favor and keep an eye on those three," Shadow instructed his robot teammate.

"AFFIRMATIVE. PERMISSION TO ANNIHILATE SONIC'S CHILDHOOD BULLIES?" Omega asked, his fingers already twitching and ready to strangle Lloyd when the badger came near him while picking up papers. Lloyd took one look at the massive killing machine near him and scurried away with his tail between his legs.

"Annihilating's a little harsh, Omega." Rouge smiled, her teal eyes glinting. "But maybe dangling those three brutes over a cliff will suffice," she said before sighing as she gazed out of the open door Sonic had run out of.

"I have to admit, hun. I was worried that your hypothesis was correct… Poor Blue…" she said to Shadow who looked out the door as well.

Shadow crossed his arms over his chest, his gaze to the floor, thinking. Some things didn't quite add up.

If Sonic had been bullied so badly, why didn't he and Uncle Chuck just leave Christmas Island right after the incident the former had brought up just a few minutes ago?

And why had Sonic pretended to be all friendly with his childhood bullies?

And, most intriguing of all, why did Sonic actually sound _grateful _in the end when he had brought the incident up?

'_There has to be more to all of this. Sonic wouldn't casually bring up a traumatic memory to guilt trip these guys into apologizing.' _Looking at Hugh, Jayden, and Lloyd, Shadow could see the guilt on their faces and he gave them a cold look, which made them back off. They nearly killed Sonic when they were kids, for Chaos' sake. And Shadow secretly enjoyed seeing them squirm.

"_Why, if you hadn't done that, I never would have…"_

There. The last thing Sonic had said before he bolted. Shadow's eyes widened as he remembered the blue hedgehog's face when he stopped mid-sentence. His eyes had glazed over and his lower lip trembled a little as he shook. He looked like he was going to cry…

But this was _Sonic_! The Faker practically _laughed _in the face of danger as he constantly flirted with Death. Hell, he could walk straight into Hell with a smile then start joking with the Devil! He was that confident and so sure of himself. And he was always so cheerful that it made Shadow sick sometimes. The blue hedgehog radiated happiness and positive energy so much that he's been known to make _actual flowers _bloom while in his Super Form. Frankly, the first time he'd seen that happen, Shadow had a hard time believing it until Tails told him about Sonic's Chaos Energy.

'_He's got to be hiding something…' _Shadow thought, alerted by a light tap on the shoulder from Rouge. The lobby had been cleaned and, now, Ashley was leading the group into her office where a leopard greeted them and gestured to a map of Christmas Island spread out on the mayor's desk.

'_Asking him would immediately trigger a fight-or-flight response. I'll just have to wait and see whether the truth unveils itself or not,' _thought Shadow as the strategizing began without Sonic or Uncle Chuck.

At least he knew that Tails will fill the two hedgehogs in later…

* * *

"_Get back here, you freak!"_

Sonic panted as he ran through familiar woods, his heart thumping wildly in his ribcage. He had to keep running. If he stopped to catch his breath, he was a goner.

"_Arthur, Jayden, cut him off!"_

Sonic yelped as he tripped on a tree root and fell flat on his face. On instinct, he brought up his arms to shield himself from a blow that never came. Opening his eyes, Sonic breathed a sigh of relief.

Lloyd and Hughie weren't there to beat him up until he was barely conscious. Arthur wasn't there with the dreaded muzzle. Jayden wasn't there to throw him off the cliff overlooking the island's West coast...

He was no longer a scared six-year-old being chased by bullies. He was an adult now, stronger and faster than he had ever been. The bullies couldn't hurt him anymore. Getting up, Sonic dusted himself off and took several deep breaths. His encounter with those three earlier had shaken him, made him relive one of his worst memories, and had driven him all the way here to the forest of his childhood as his past and present began to mesh together in his mind. It was getting harder to keep it together in front of his friends, but he had to stay strong. They didn't need to know about his troubles.

Sighing, Sonic looked at the path up ahead. The cliff wasn't that far away and he could get there in just a minute. Then he looked behind him. His Uncle Chuck was probably looking for him now.

'_I've come too far now. Time to head over there and stare my past in the face,' _Sonic said to himself as he ran until he arrived at the cliff. Up here, he could see the ocean and its great white-capped azure waves. Looking down, a shiver crawled up his spine.

Jagged rocks pierced the water's surface and the waves pounded at them relentlessly. He'd nearly been impaled by one of those things back then…

But, despite all the pain that had transpired in that unforgiving ocean, Sonic couldn't help but smile a little. Yes, him being muzzled and thrown into the ocean when he was a child was one of his worst memories. But it was also one of his best ones, too.

Because on that day… he met his angel.

* * *

_"Come on, Hugh, you already got two kicks in. Let me have a turn!"_

_Sonic cried out as he felt Arthur's baseball bat bash his side. He struggled to get up, his arms trembling as he lifted his head up, only to get his face pushed into the dirt by Lloyd._

_"Wh-why…?" he whimpered, his voice muffled by the ground._

_"What was that?" Arthur rolled him onto his back. "What'd you say, freak?" he asked, grinning meanly._

_"Why are… you guys… so mean to me? I-I didn't… do anything wrong…" cried Sonic, earning a punch in the gut from Lloyd. He screamed, curling up on his side. Bruises littered his entire body and blood dripped from his nose, which Hughie had broken earlier. _

_"You're different, that's why. Hold him down!"_

_Sonic squirmed and struggled under Hughie, Jayden, and Lloyd's grip, crying out for his Uncle Chuck, for anyone, to save him. A hard slap to the face from Jayden shut him up._

_"You're a blue-furred freak who can run faster than anyone else on this island. You're dangerous and scary. When you grow up, you're gonna be a monster and we need to get rid of you before that happens," Arthur said gravely as he pulled out a wire muzzle._

_"No!" Sonic shook his head wildly, his quills bristling. "No, please! I'll be good! I won't hurt anyone! I won't run anymore! I'm not a monster! Please, I promise I won't be a monster!" he pleaded, tears rolling down his bruised cheeks. But his pleas fell on deaf ears as Arthur strapped the muzzle firmly onto his face._

_"There. Now the freak can't talk," Arthur said, looking pleased with himself. Hughie, Jayden, and Lloyd got off of Sonic who whimpered as he vainly pulled at the muzzle wrapped tightly around his face._

_Then the beating resumed. Punches and kicks targeted at every inch of his body rained down on Sonic and kept going. Whatever cries for help that he let out went unanswered. And no amount of shielding with his arms or curling up into a ball helped._

_As Arthur, Hughie, Jayden, and Lloyd kicked him into the ground, Sonic gave up. He was too weak to run. Everything hurt. And nobody was coming._

_Maybe he really was a monster and deserved to die…_

_SNAP!_

_"What was that?"_

_The whole world shimmered in and out of focus…_

_"Shoot, I think someone's coming!"_

_"Uh… guys? He's not moving!"_

_Maybe if he played dead, they'd leave him alone… or was he already dying…?_

_"Shoot! Come on, we gotta hide him. I am not going to jail for this!"_

_He felt someone pick him up by the scruff of his neck. His vision was filled with black dots that changed color from red to orange to blue. It was kind of pretty, in a way…_

_"Wh-whoa, whoa, whoa! Jayden, wait! Maybe that's not a good idea!"_

_He could feel the wind on his face. And he could faintly hear the crashing of waves. Were they at the beach? That's odd… the beach was way down below…_

_"Eh, he'll be fine. Hedgehogs can float on their spines right?"_

_"Uh… I think so?"_

_"Wh-whatever! Let's just ditch this weirdo before someone finds us!"_

_Now he was falling. The wind whipped against his face. Opening his eyes just a crack, Sonic saw the ocean and the jagged rocks rushing up to meet him. Before he could even scream, he hit the water… hard._

_The sensation of water filling his lungs made Sonic forget about all the pain from his beating. Adrenaline and fear coursed through his veins as he struggled to swim up to the surface. Coughing and spluttering, he managed to bring his head above water for a brief second before a wave slammed into him and shoved him towards one of the rocks. Sonic gasped as pain blossomed anew on his forehead, the water around him suddenly tinted with red. _

_He was the fastest thing on land but the ocean's natural rhythm had him beat. The waves pounded him into the rocks again and again, and the currents kept bringing him down. His body, already bruised black and blue from earlier, was broken and bleeding, the blood tinting the stinging salt water around him._

_Another wave washed over him and, as bubbles swirled around him, Sonic realized that there was no use fighting against the ocean. He was going to drown…_

_'Goodbye, Uncle Chuck… I love you… I'll tell Mom and Dad you said 'Hi…' thought Sonic as he felt his lungs give out._

_Suddenly, a dark shape fell into the water. Its arms were stretched out, reaching towards him…_

_'It must be an angel… Coming to take me to heaven…'_

_Sonic managed to smile a little before his body gave and everything went black…_

* * *

_"Wake up… Please…!"_

_"…CPR?! How…"_

_"…One…Two…Three… Come on, breathe! BREATHE!"_

_His lungs burned as he coughed out what felt like an entire gallon of water. He ached all over. He was wet. He was cold…_

_And he was, miraculously, still alive. _

_Sonic moaned, his eyelids fluttering. Through his blurred vision, he could make out a face and large eyes with black irises gazing worriedly at him. This must be the angel…_

_"That's it! Take big gulps of air… Lolo, Sergeant, can you help me carry him…?"_

_He was being lifted up now and it was like he was floating. As he drifted in and out of consciousness, the angel kept talking to him, her voice soft and soothing._

_"Don't worry. You're safe now… Just hang in there…"_

_Sonic's vision cleared for a few seconds. And, just before he drifted back into unconsciousness, he got a better glimpse of the angel. She was a hedgehog just like him, with brown fur and black quills that were both currently drenched._

_'She's the most beautiful angel I've ever seen…' was Sonic's last thought before he passed out._

* * *

_When he came to, his Uncle Chuck was right beside him. The older hedgehog's quills were messy and his bushy mustache was missing a few strands, no doubt lost from all the incessant pulling he'd done while waiting for his nephew to wake up. _

_"Unk…" Sonic rasped, his throat sore. To his shock, his uncle started crying, fat tears rolling down his cheeks as he gently held his face in his hands._

_"Oh, Sonny boy… My boy… My Sonny boy…" Uncle Chuck sobbed, kissing Sonic's forehead before taking the little hedgehog into his arms, mindful of the bruises. It took Sonic a minute for him to realize that he had bandages wrapped around his entire body and that he and his uncle were in someone's bedroom._

_'The angel must have brought me here…' Sonic thought as he looked around. "It's okay, Unk… Please don't cry…" he whispered, patting his uncle's wet cheeks._

_His uncle sniffed, rubbing his bloodshot eyes. "I'm just glad you're finally back, Sonny boy. I was so worried you would never wake up," he admitted, ruffling Sonic's quills._

_"I would have never woken up if it hadn't been for the angel, Unk," Sonic told him, smiling._

_"The angel?" asked Uncle Chuck, cocking his head at his nephew._

_"Yeah. An angel pulled me out of the ocean and saved me," Sonic managed to say before a coughing fit left him leaning against his uncle as he wheezed._

_"Charles, is everything all right in there?"_

_Uncle Chuck gently rubbed Sonic's back as an elderly female hedgehog with a large green shawl draped over her shoulders entered the bedroom followed by a younger hedgehog wearing a blue cotton dress. The elder hedgehog noticed Sonic coughing and breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank God…" she murmured as she and her companion went over to Sonic and Uncle Chuck. "How are you feeling, hijo?" she asked Sonic, her gray eyes looking into Sonic's emerald green with a concerned gaze._

_Sonic snuggled into his uncle's warm arms, burying his face in the crook of his arm. _

_"He's still a little shaken and sore, Elena," Uncle Chuck addressed the elderly hedgehog. "But thank you so much for tending to him." He smiled softly at Elena and the other hedgehog then gently nudged Sonic._

_"It's all right, Sonic. This nice lady's Elena and her daughter, Rosario. They're the ones who have been patching you up," he said softly._

_Sonic brought his face up to meet Elena and Rosario's, and whispered, "Hello…"_

_Elena gently placed a hand on Sonic's forehead. "Hmmm… No fever, but I'm worried about that cough of yours." Wringing her hands, she looked at Uncle Chuck, her expression serious. "It might be a good idea to take Sonic to see a doctor, Sir Charles. But, in the meantime, you two can stay here so he can get some strength back," she advised._

_"I'll have Fatima bring him some soup." Turning around, Rosario called out, "Fatima, anak, would you please bring some soup over?"_

_"Coming, Mama!"_

_Sonic's gasped as a hedgehog girl wearing a white blouse and a necklace of white flowers entered the room, carrying a tray bearing a bowl of hot soup. "The angel! Unk, that's her!" he exclaimed._

_The girl stopped in her tracks and blinked. A soft red blush spread across her face as Sonic's words sunk in and she looked down at the tray she was carrying. Elena and Rosario found the whole situation amusing and giggled._

_Uncle Chuck chuckled, patting Sonic's head. "Well, Sonny boy, is there something you'd like to say to her?" he asked._

_Sonic nodded and shyly smiled at the girl as she placed the tray down. "Thank you for saving me…"_

_"You're welcome…" the girl whispered, still blushing as they looked at each other. "I'm Fatima, by the way…" she added with a shy smile._

_"Fa-ti-ma…" Sonic tested the name on his tongue before giggling. "That's a pretty name," earning a soft laugh from Fatima who smiled a little bit wider. Now that she was close enough, Sonic could see that Fatima had cocoa brown fur, a light brown muzzle, and shoulder-length black quills. The flowers around her neck were jasmines and they gave off a sweet perfume that tickled his nose._

_Suddenly, a blanket, some pillows, and a hot water bottle all came whizzing into the room as the temperature dropped. Sonic yelped as the objects floated over to him, each one held aloft by no one. _

_"Um… Uncle Chuck…" Looking up, Sonic noticed that his uncle wasn't startled. Instead, he looked almost amused by the spectacle._

_"Oh, dear…" Rosario said, shaking her head while her mother clucked her tongue._

_"Don't crowd around him, you lot. He's already got a chill. It won't do him any good if you all keep making the temperature drop," Elena said sternly to whatever was holding the objects currently surrounding Sonic._

_"At least the soup's cooled down a little," Fatima said brightly as Uncle Chuck started feeding Sonic. She then turned to the floating blanket, pillows, and hot water bottle. "Thanks for bringing these, everyone. But you guys need to go for a little while. I'll introduce you guys later."_

_Between slurps of soup, Sonic watched with wide eyes as the items floated over to the bedside table. The blanket neatly folded itself up and laid itself down on the table, followed by the pillows and the hot water bottle. The chill in the air started to go away as Fatima waved goodbye to the air._

_"Is your house… haunted?" Sonic asked meekly._

_Fatima giggled and nodded. "We prefer the term 'occupied.' But don't worry. They're all friendly ghosts. One of them is even my grandfather," she told him._

_"Fatima and her family can communicate with ghosts, Sonic. I was pretty spooked myself when they made their presence known the first time. But don't worry. Those ghosts are good spirits," Uncle Chuck explained as he continued to feed Sonic soup._

_When his nephew had finished the entire bowl, his gentle expression became serious. "Sonic, what happened? Who did this to you?" he asked, gesturing to all the bruises and bandages on his nephew's little body._

_Touching the bandage wrapped around his head, Sonic whimpered. "Arthur, Hughie, Jayden, and Lloyd… they beat me up real bad in the woods, Unk. And I think Jayden threw me over a cliff into the ocean…" he said quietly._

_He was fairly sure that his uncle's fingers left dents in the metal tray as he gripped it. Sonic gulped as his uncle's face darkened, rage filling his normally calm blue eyes._

_"Those… Those…" Uncle Chuck muttered, face turning red before Elena helped him out of his chair._

_"Not in front of the children or in this house, Charles. You can cuss outside," she said, nodding to Rosario._

_"We'll accompany you to the police station. Those brutes won't get away with this," Rosario added, then stooped down and tenderly brushed her hand against Fatima's cheek. "Anak, you're in charge of things around here while we're gone, okay?"_

_"Okay, Mama." Fatima nodded._

_As soon as the adults were out of the room, Fatima turned to Sonic. "Do you need anything?" she asked, gesturing to the items her house's ghosts had left earlier._

_"A pillow would be nice…" Sonic mumbled, suddenly feeling shy all over again._

_Fatima placed a pillow behind his head then sat on the edge of the bed, swinging her legs back and forth. For a while, neither of them spoke._

_"So… you can talk to ghosts?" asked Sonic, breaking the silence, twiddling his thumbs._

_"Yup. It runs in the family on my Mama and Lola's side. I can see them, too," Fatima told him, her hands folded on her lap and gripping the brown fabric of her skirt._

_Sonic stayed silent, gaping at Fatima for a few seconds, then breathed out, "Whoa… that is way past cool!"_

_"You think my power's… cool?" Fatima blinked her luminous black eyes at him, mouth slightly open._

_"Totally! And you're not even scared of them?" Sonic asked, almost bouncing on the bed in his excitement._

_"I'm only scared of bad spirits. Most of the ghosts around here are friendly, though," answered Fatima._

_"There are other ghosts on Christmas Island?" Sonic's jaw dropped._

_"Lots. I talk to them all the time," Fatima said, smiling proudly._

_Sonic tilted his head curiously at her. "Y'know. Now that I've gotten a good look at you… I feel like I've seen you before…" he mused._

_"We're classmates," Fatima deadpanned. "I sit in the very back of the room so you probably haven't really noticed me that much."_

_"O-Oh… I'm sorry," Sonic said, rubbing the back of his head._

_"It's all right." Fatima smiled warmly at him. "I know a little bit about you. You're that kid in class who runs really fast. Maurice, right?"_

_Sonic frowned at the name. "Maurice is my name on paper, but I go by Sonic," he declared._

_"What's wrong with Maurice? It's a nice name," Fatima inquired._

_"It just doesn't sound like me, that's all." Sonic shrugged._

_Fatima hummed, looking at him from head to toe. "Mmmm… Yeah, I see your point. You look more like a Sonic, especially with that speed of yours," she agreed._

_"You… don't… think I'm a freak because of my speed?" Sonic asked haltingly._

_This was too good to be true. A literal angel on Earth rescued him. She and her family actually took care of him while he was injured. And they were going to help him and Uncle Chuck get justice. In all his years living on Christmas Island, no one other than his Unk has treated him kindly before. Everybody on the island knew him and what he could do. And everybody on the island hated him for it._

_Right?_

_Fatima gave him a confused look. "Why would I think that? You're amazing!" she told him as if it was the most obvious thing in the world._

_'Amazing… She thinks I'm amazing…' Sonic thought, giddy butterflies filling up his stomach. "Y-you really think so?" he stuttered._

_"Of course!" Fatima insisted, grinning. "With that super-speed of yours, you can be a real-life superhero!" she exclaimed, striking a pose like an action star for emphasis._

_Sonic laughed. "A hero, huh? I guess I'll have to train really hard so I can get the hang of my speed so I can start being one," he declared. Then he looked at Fatima curiously. "Hey… how'd you rescue me, by the way?" he asked._

_Fatima blushed. "Oh… Doña Celia and Emily saw those guys beat you up and came to me while I was in the forest. I followed them all the way to the cliff and… I saw them throw you into the ocean. And, well, I knew that I just had to help so I asked my friends to help me dive down there to rescue you. Sergeant Juni taught me CPR on the spot so I could help you breathe again," she explained._

_"Who…?" Sonic raised an eyebrow at the names she just dropped._

_"My ghost friends. You wanna meet them?" Fatima offered._

_"Maybe later…" Sonic yawned as he snuggled into the blankets. "Mmm… 'M still tired…"_

_Fatima nodded and was about to get off the bed when Sonic gently held her hand._

_"Please stay…" Eyelids drooping, Sonic smiled at her. _

_"Okay, Sonic… I'll stay," Fatima squeezed his hand. Her gentle smile was the last thing Sonic saw before he closed his eyes and fell asleep._

* * *

**Notes on some of the words used here by Elena and Rosario:**

'_**hijo' is a Spanish term usually used to refer to a young boy.**_

'_**anak' is a Filipino term for "child."**_

**I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. I've been dying to post this so you guys can start putting together the pieces of the puzzle that is Sonic's past.**

**Anyway, I have to tell you guys that the succeeding chapters are going to take a little longer than a week to be uploaded. I'm on my last semester of college and my Creative Writing thesis is going to be my top priority. So I won't really be able to do much fan fiction writing for the next few months.**

**Rest assured that I'll be able to write more fanfics once I graduate ;)**

**In the meantime, read and review!**

**-GuardianDragon98**


	8. Chapter 8

**Oh wow, guys, I am SO sorry this took so long. Thesis has been taking up the most of my time and, unfortunately, it continues to take up most of my time. I'm sorry to say this but updates are REALLY going to be few and far in between for the time being since I need to make a lot of revisions for my Creative Writing thesis.**

**In the meantime, I hope this new chapter will tide you guys over for the time being.**

**And in unrelated news, I have finally watched the Sonic movie! And, Holy Shields, it was AMAZING! I might watch it again just to see if I can spot any more Easter eggs from the games. If you guys haven't seen it yet, make like Sonic and go see it! It's such a fun movie… and stick around during the credits. Trust me, you'll thank me later! ;)**

**NOTE: I DO NOT OWN ANY OF THE SONIC CHARACTERS. ALL RIGHTS GO TO SEGA!**

* * *

**Chapter 8**

Uncle Chuck huffed and puffed as he ran through the woods, swatting branches out of his path. The sun was already beginning to set. Shadows crept up over the grass as he ran. _'I shouldn't have let him come back here. I should have let Team Dark handle this mission like he wanted,' _he thought, his hands going up to grip his quills as he ran.

Of all the days Eggman decided to let loose one of his schemes, he had to pick today. And of all the places he could launch said schemes, he had to choose Christmas Island.

Uncle Chuck slowed his pace as he came to a clearing. He looked all around him, hoping to see a speck of blue amongst all the green.

"Sonny boy, where are you?" he wondered out loud before hearing some rustling behind him.

"Hey, Unk…"

Sonic emerged from the vegetation, his normally perky blue ears drooping.

Sighing, Uncle Chuck went over to him. He wrapped his arms around his nephew, letting Sonic rest his head on his shoulder.

"You had me worried," he whispered, running his hands through Sonic's quills.

"I couldn't help it, Unk." Sonic hugged his uncle. "This place… I keep seeing her everywhere," he said, his throat tight with tears.

"I know…" Uncle Chuck murmured. His run through the island, while he searched for his nephew earlier, had sent memories flooding back into his mind, too.

Uncle Chuck patted Sonic's shoulders. "The sooner we stop Dr. Eggman, the sooner we can leave, Sonic," he reassured his nephew with a smile.

"Right," Sonic replied, perking up a little.

The two made their way out of the forest in silence. Upon arriving back at the village, they were greeted by a gaggle of children who immediately surrounded Sonic.

"It's really you! Sonic the Hedgehog!" a blond-furred puppy exclaimed, his tail wagging so fast that it was a blur.

"Y-you're really here! Ohmigosh, can I please, please, _please _get your autograph?!" A female panda cub asked the Blue Blur.

"Are you here to stop the monsters?" A female black-headed Caiques piped up. She was newly-fledged, judging by few wisps of fluffy green feathers still clinging to her neck.

More children gathered around the famous hero, peppering him with questions. Sonic smiled, his sour mood evaporating. He hadn't noticed the children running around the island earlier. The memories of all the bad times had clouded his thoughts. Seeing the kids approaching him with smiles on their faces instead of the scowls he'd been greeted with in the past was, honestly, a huge relief.

"Okay! First off, _the one and only_." He bowed grandly to the puppy who had approached him first. "Second, sure thing, kid!" he smiled at the panda cub.

The panda cub squealed and whipped out a blue notebook decorated with stickers of the hero and a pen.

Sonic grinned. "Can I get your name, mademoiselle?" he asked as he put the pen to a blank page.

"Sophie. Sophie Pandara," the panda cub replied, her cheeks flushed pink.

The pen scratched against the paper as Sonic slowly signed his name. He then looked at Sophie, his smile shrinking. "You're Elsie Pandara's kid?" he asked softly.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Uncle Chuck stiffen, the elder hedgehog watching the children closely.

"Uh-huh! Wait, you know my Mom?" Sophie gasped.

"We… go way back," Sonic replied as he finished his signature with a flourish. Handing the notebook back to Sophie, he marveled at how different the little girl was from her mother.

"That's what my dad said, too!" the blond puppy chimed in.

"Your Dad…?" Sonic looked at the pup, his head tilted to the side. Then he snapped his fingers. "Jayden Doggstar?" he inquired.

"Yup! And _I'm _Rody!" the pup answered, holding his right hand out.

'_Again. Nothing like his parent…' _Sonic thought as he shook hands with Rody.

"U-um, excuse me…" the young Caiques said softly, making Sonic and all the other kids look at her. "A-are you here to help us, Mr. Sonic?" she asked, wrapping her wings around herself.

Sophie, Rody, and all of the other kids nodded their heads.

"Yeah, the Eggman tricked us!"

"He said he was gonna help the town but he sent these big scary monsters!"

"Please help us, Mr. Sonic!"

Sonic glanced at his Uncle Chuck. The elder hedgehog merely gave him a smile and gestured to the group of children, who were all looking up at Sonic with hope in their eyes.

'_I still don't like being here… but I'm not gonna let Eggman hurt these kids,_' he said to himself before flashing a cocky grin at the children.

"Whatever plan Eggman's cooked up, I'll thwart it in no time! So no need to worry, kids! Sonic the Hedgehog is on the case!" he reassured them, pumping his fist in the air.

The children cheered and led Sonic and Uncle Chuck back to the village plaza, asking questions all the while. The young Caiques parrot tugged at Sonic's glove and chirped, "M-my name's Lucia, by the way. My mommy told me you used to live here…"

"Yup. I did," Sonic replied, smiling gently at her.

"Why did you leave?"

Sonic stumbled, nearly bumping into Rody while the pup continued chattering. Beside him, Uncle Chuck sucked in a breath.

"W-well, I…" Sonic paused and noticed that the kids had all stopped walking and were looking at him again. Shuffling closer to Uncle Chuck, Sonic wrung his hands.

"I… needed to leave. I mean, there's a whole world out there that's just waiting to be explored. A-and a lot of villains for me to stop, too! You know, before they decided to invade Christmas Island!" he rambled.

'_But you said it yourself earlier, didn't you? The people here could benefit from getting their butts kicked by Eggman. Maybe, now, they'll see why they shouldn't have treated you and Fatima so horribly,' _his inner voice told him.

'_Shut up. I don't want to think about this now,' _Sonic mentally scolded himself.

The kids nodded their heads in understanding, unaware of the inner war being waged inside of their hero's mind.

"That's true… Christmas Island's pretty small. Nothing really bad ever happens here," Rody said, shrugging.

Sonic and Uncle Chuck looked at each other, eyes wide.

The children didn't know.

* * *

Sonic remained silent as he and his Uncle were led to the village plaza, the latter now preoccupied with answering questions from the children about being the uncle of the world's fastest hero. But the children quickly dispersed when they heard their parents calling for them, leaving Sonic and Uncle Chuck alone.

"Sonic, there you are!" Tails waved as the two hedgehogs came into view. He and the rest of the team were hanging around the Century Tree, discussing plans with Ashley and Karla.

"Sorry for bailing earlier, bro," Sonic apologized, jogging over to the two-tailed fox. He noticed Amy and the others looking at him, worried. "So, what'd I miss?" he asked.

"Well, we know where Eggman's Badniks came from when they attacked the first time." Tails pulled up a hologram of Christmas Island's map on the Miles Electric and pointed at the blinking Eggman logo. "Eyewitness reports indicate that they came from the northwest portion of the island. According to Ashley, Eggman's built a generator over there," he informed Sonic and Uncle Chuck.

Sonic looked at Ashley and Karla. "Seriously?" he deadpanned.

"We thought he was one of those power plant executives from the mainland. He said he was going to help supply our town with more electricity," Ashley explained.

"Did he have, oh, I don't know… a whole _army _of robots with him when he came here?" Sonic asked, putting his hands on his hips.

"He said they were his construction crew," Karla replied, narrowing her golden eyes at the blue hedgehog.

Letting out a breath through his nose, Sonic turned to his friends. "Okay. We know where Eggman's forces are most likely coming from. They're coming from the power plant, which is _obviously _another one of his factories. What should our strategy be?" he asked.

"Shadow and I can scout the island's northwest area for the factory. If we infiltrate it, we can find a weak spot and relay the information back to you," Rouge suggested.

"In the meantime, the rest of us can keep an eye on the village perimeter and chase off any robots before they can attack civilians," Blaze added.

"Solid plans." Uncle Chuck folded his arms across his chest. "Did you guys find any leads as to where Eggman's factory is located?" he asked.

"Actually, we do, Uncle Chuck." Tails tapped on the Miles Electric's screen, making the Eggman logo blink and change location.

Sonic took one look at the alleged factory site and paled. "That's…" he managed to whisper before screams suddenly sounded from the distance.

"Over there!" Silver shouted, pointing at a plume of smoke rising from a quarter of a mile away from the village plaza.

Sonic gave Ashley and Karla a fierce glare before joining his friends in heading over to the distress area.

* * *

When they arrived, the team found themselves face-to-face with an army of Ghost Badniks.

"Divide and conquer, guys!" Knuckles pounded his fists together and prepared to run right into the fray.

"Hold up, Knuckles!" Sonic held his hotheaded friend back. His eyes darted from one Badnik to another, taking in the design and structure of the Doctor's machines. Blast cannons on both arms, glowing red eyes that could indicate lasers.

Sonic zeroed in on the torsos. His spines immediately stood on end and he nearly recoiled in horror upon seeing the black fireballs contained within each one. No wonder the island was infested with ghosts. Somehow, Eggman had found a way to use them as power sources.

"Target the heads and arms! Whatever you do, do _not_ let the fireballs inside of those bots touch you!" he warned Knuckles and the rest of the team.

"I'll try to evacuate as many as I can, Sonny boy. Go get 'em!" Uncle Chuck hollered, already breaking off from the group.

"Let's get these Badniks out of here, guys!" Amy shouted, readying her piko piko hammer.

With Sonic leading the charge, the heroes sprung into action!

* * *

Silver zipped over to a house, using his telekinesis to lift one Ghost Badnik that was blasting holes through its roof. "Heads up, Blaze!" he yelled, flinging the Badnik into another Badnik his feline companion was torching with her flames. He then floated down into the house to rescue the family hiding in there and led them away from the area.

Blaze unleashed a fiery kick, the two Badniks crashing to the ground in a smelted heap. Then she saw more Badniks setting fire to some houses and her eyes widened. "Black flames… How is that even possible?" she murmured before hearing a Badnik coming at her from behind and nimbly leaped into the air to dodge.

Omega, his rocket thrusters lit, caught Blaze and let her sit on his shoulder. "LET US TORCH THESE EGGMAN MOSTROSITIES TOGETHER!" he droned, his guns spraying bullets. Blaze smiled at the robot's enthusiasm and was more than happy to hurl a couple of fireballs at Badniks alongside Omega.

* * *

Amy grunted as she knocked a Badnik's head off of its shoulders. She yelped as another one whizzed by her, spewing black flames from its hands. She would have been burned to a crisp of Tails hadn't swooped in and carried her out of the fire's path.

"Those black fireballs must be their power source! We have to snuff them out!" Tails said, his eyes trained on the orbs embedded within the Badniks' torsos.

"But Sonic warned us not to let those things touch us!" Amy reminded him as Tails set her back down on the ground near Knuckles.

The echidna was punching Badniks left and right, knocking the heads and arms clean off. He was just about to punch another Badnik right in the torso when Sonic's warning came back to him. His amethyst eyes narrowed at the black fireball contained within the Badnik's torso and a chill went up his spine.

'_I don't know why Sonic warned us not to let those things touch us. But I'm definitely feeling a lot of negative energy coming from that thing,' _Knuckles thought before leaping up and decapitating the Badnik.

* * *

Shadow and Rouge were on the ground with Uncle Chuck, providing cover fire for the elder hedgehog as he evacuated the villagers.

"Chaos Spear!" Shadow yelled, taking down five airborne Badniks in one strike.

But, to his horror, some of the Chaos Spears had shattered the orbs of each Badnik. And the black fireballs flew out!

"Duck!" Rouge pulled Shadow to the ground just as one fireball came dangerously close to the Ultimate Lifeform.

* * *

High up in the clouds, Multo watched the attack with Orbot and Cubot perched on both sides of her Ghost Badnik.

"_**Hmmm… these guys are tough. Just like him," **_she mused, the Doctor's glowing red eyes trained on the blue blur tearing through the battlefield.

A cornered lamb let out pitiful bleats as a Badnik cornered him. Tears welled up in his eyes as the robot's blast cannons started to glow with a sickly gray light.

Sonic had just taken down three Badniks with a Spin Dash when he spotted the cornered child. He dashed forward and leaped out in front of the frightened lamb. "Pick on someone your own size, you Terminator reject!" he yelled.

The Ghost Badnik's red eyes flashed as it gazed down at the pair. It raised its arm, preparing to fire a blast.

"_**Ah, ah, ah! What did I say earlier?" **_Multo growled, the dark aura around Eggman intensifying.

Meanwhile, Sonic watched as the Ghost Badnik suddenly lowered its firing arm. Then, to his bewilderment, the Badnik turned around and started walking away.

"All right, kid. Let's juice!" Sonic scooped up the child into his arms and ran.

"You must really want to finish off Sonic yourself, Ms. Multo," Orbot said, watching the battle from high above.

"_**I didn't say that," **_Mutlo shook the Doctor's head.

"So you're letting Sonic live?" Cubot tilted his head at her.

"_**Yes." **_Multo nodded and continued watching. She smiled, seeing some of the ghosts freed from their Badniks and causing a ruckus. A couple of smashed robots was a small price to pay for what else she had in store for Christmas Island and its residents.

"_**All right. I think we've seen enough."**_

* * *

An unholy screech suddenly ripped through the air, making everyone cover their ears. All surviving Badniks rose into the air and followed the sound until they disappeared into the darkening sky.

Sonic wiped the sweat off his brow and looked up at the retreating swarm of Badniks. There were significantly fewer of them now thanks to his friends, but the job wasn't done yet.

_'Using dark spirits to power his robots... That doesn't sound like Eggman at all. But, then again, the guy's unleashed literal gods and demons onto the world. Still... what exactly are you planning to do here, Doctor?' _Sonic thought, his eyes narrowed as he watched Eggman's forces retreat.

Suddenly, his phone rang. Taking it out of his quills, Sonic noticed Uncle Chuck's caller ID and immediately answered.

"Sonny boy, I'm over here at the hospital with the evacuees. I didn't see any of them… but I think some of the spirits might have possessed some of the kids," his uncle told him, his voice frantic.

Sonic rushed over to the hospital, his friends not far behind. Inside, he saw Jayden and another Mobian dog, his wife most likely, standing beside a bed where Rody was lying on. Not far from them was an adult Caiques parrot who was crying over Lucia.

"The staff here are getting pretty overwhelmed. They've tried the usual medication and procedures but nothing's working…" Uncle Chuck murmured as his nephew and the gang joined him in the emergency room.

Sonic's eyes narrowed as he inspected the two kids. Their eyes had rolled up into the backs of their heads, the whites visible. Rody's body was twitching as he babbled nonsense while Lucia kept tossing her head side to side.

"Do any of you have a medical history of seizures in your family? What exactly happened?" Sonic asked the parents.

"N-none. Rody's had a clean bill of health since his last asthma attack two years ago," Jayden stuttered.

"And my Lucia's never had a cold in her life!" the adult Caiques parrot added.

"It was those black fireballs," Jayden's wife whimpered. "Th-they went after the children and… and they shot right into their chests! Rody didn't get burnt but he suddenly collapsed and started acting like this!"

"I'll need candles, water, oil, and salt," Sonic instructed the nurses and doctors gathered inside the emergency room. When they stared at him and didn't move, he balled his hands at his sides. "No time for questions, people!" he snapped, startling the adults into moving.

"Sonic, what's going on?" Amy asked, gently placing a hand on the blue hedgehog's shoulder.

Looking over his shoulder, Sonic saw Amy, Blaze, Knuckles, Omega, Rouge, Shadow, Silver, and Tails all looking at him worriedly. Calming down a little, he faced his friends. He wanted to tell them _so badly_ the reasons why.

Why he'd been acting all weird ever since they arrived here, why he and Uncle Chuck left Christmas Island in the first place…

But not now. Not when lives _and _souls were at stake.

The doctors and nurses came back with all of the materials Sonic had requested, and the Blue Blur got to work.

"Blue, what exactly are you up to?" Rouge asked, frowning.

Sonic didn't reply, focusing on lighting the candles and arranging them around Rody and Lucia's hospital beds. Once this was done, he sprinkled salt on the sheets, making sure not to get any on the children.

Lucia let out a shriek and her wings thrashed, sending grains of salt flying. Jayden's babbling worsened, the pup starting to foam at the mouth.

"I'm going to need you guys to hold them down," Sonic instructed the parents, pouring oil over his fingers. Standing in between the hospital beds, he anointed Rody and Lucia's foreheads with the oil before looking at his friends. "Everyone else, please leave," he ordered.

"B-but Sonic, what if you need help?" Tails took a step towards his brother and flinched when both Rody and Lucia's bodies started convulsing.

"I can handle this, Tails. The fewer people are inside, the harder it'll be for the spirits to find new hosts," Sonic said seriously.

"Spirits? Hosts?" Silver gaped at the blue hedgehog.

"Unless any of you want to know what it's like to have a ghost latch onto your soul, I highly recommend that you guys leave," Sonic said sternly, shocking the others.

"You really know how to perform an exorcism?" Knuckles asked his blue friend, eyes wide.

Sonic spared a second to look at Knuckles and nodded. "I got this, Knux," he reassured him.

Nodding, Knuckles motioned to the rest of the team to clear out.

"Sonic…" Uncle Chuck helped the mother parrot in holding down Lucia. "Please be careful," he murmured.

Sonic nodded, his face grim. Focusing on Rody and Lucia, the poor kids convulsing on the beds, he poured water over their heads and closed his eyes.

"This is not your place. It is time for you to move on…"

* * *

"I'm worried… What if these ghosts possess Sonic next?" Amy whispered, clasping her hands to her chest.

"I felt the dark energy swirling around those Badniks earlier. There is something supernatural at work here. I shudder to think of what evil forces Eggman must be working with this time around," Blaze agreed, her arms folded across her chest.

"We're just going to have to trust him, Amy." Knuckles patted the pink hedgehog's shoulder. He smirked. "But if Sonic does get possessed, I'm sure I can punch the ghosts right out of him," he remarked.

"That'll just make you their next target, Knuckles. Frankly, I don't want to know what a ghost with your brute strength is capable of," Silver pointed out, shuddering.

"CANNOT COMPUTE MEANING OF SONIC'S WORDS. ORGANIC LIFEFORMS' READINGS EARLIER WERE UNDECIPHERABLE," Omega intoned.

"Tails, hun, did you know anything about this?" Rouge asked the two-tailed fox who was pacing in front of the emergency room's double doors.

Tails' namesakes started twirling behind him as he thought hard. "Sonic… He told me not long after we first met that he could see ghosts and that he could talk to them. Some of them actually even _like _hanging around him. Whenever I get a little cold while I'm around Sonic, he would just talk to the air before the temperature around him would return to normal," he mumbled.

Shadow leaned against the wall, soaking in all of this information. _'The faker never ceases to amaze us all…' _he thought, glancing at the emergency room's closed doors.

Shrieks and screams could be heard from inside. Shadow could only hope that it was the spirits who were in pain, and not the children Sonic was trying to help. And, secretly, Shadow hoped that Sonic wasn't going to get hurt. True, the blue hedgehog had assured them that he knew how to exorcise spirits out of people but…

Unable to restrain himself, Shadow snuck over to the emergency room's closed doors and opened one of them just a crack. Then Shadow peered inside and his eyes widened at what he saw.

Sonic was glaring at a dark cloud-like mass hovering over Rody and Lucia, his hands held out in front of him. The mass swirled and writhed in the air as the children screamed bloody murder, their parents and Uncle Chuck struggling to hold them down.

Sonic opened his mouth and spoke in a loud commanding voice, "You hold no power over the living. Your place is in the realm of the dead. In the name of Chaos, I command you to depart!"

The dark mass cowered before the blue hedgehog before splitting into two.

Shadow felt his blood turn to ice as the two masses morphed into the forms of a Mobian squirrel and a Mobian poodle, black flames cloaking their bodies. He watched Sonic face the ghosts, the blue hedgehog making the sign of the cross in front of the two.

"They are innocents. Leave them," said Sonic, glaring sternly at the two ghosts.

"_**We were just following orders. To cause chaos and misery for the people of this island, as Multo wants," **_the ghost squirrel said, raising its hands in surrender.

"Who is Multo?" Sonic asked, folding his arms over his chest.

The poodle answered him, smiling wickedly. _**"She leads us in the guise of the one you call Eggman. She will not stop until all of Christmas Island fears her," **_it replied.

Sonic frowned at the two ghosts, pressing the palms of his hands together as if in prayer. "Well, I will make sure that Multo is stopped. Away! It is time for you two to move on from the mortal realm!" he declared.

The two ghosts grinned. _**"Very well, Sonic Hedgehog. We shall depart. But Multo is coming. And the people shall pay for their sins," **_they said darkly before their forms turned into wisps of dark smoke.

Sonic shivered, holding onto the railing of Lucia's bed. Dimly, he was aware of the young parrot and Rody waking up. He heard Rody, his wife, and Lucia's mother shout with joy as they hugged and kissed their children but he couldn't focus. The ghosts' eerie warnings echoed in his head, sending chills up his spine.

'_How do the dark spirits even know about what happened?' _he wondered, his gaze drifting towards the doors. Tails and the others must be worried sick about him now…

"You did it, Sonny boy," Uncle Chuck said softly, snapping Sonic out of his troubled thoughts. The elder hedgehog leaned in and whispered, "She'd be so proud of you," making Sonic smile a little.

"Heh… Thanks, Unk…" Sonic whispered back, giving his uncle a thumbs up.

* * *

Unbeknownst to both Sonic and Uncle Chuck, Shadow had seen the whole thing. Leaning against the wall, the Ultimate Lifeform took a shaky breath.

What Sonic just did in there… he wasn't sure whether to be amazed or frightened of him now.

But one thing was for certain… and it was that Dr. Eggman was now the least of their problems.

* * *

**I admit that I feel like this chapter isn't the best one I've written. I'll be going back to this one and revising it when I have the time.**

**In the meantime, read and review!**

**-GuardianDragon98**


	9. Chapter 9

**This story is alive!**

**While being quarantined is a bit of a downer, it has given me the opportunity to return to fanfiction writing.**

**And this chapter… Man, I've been wanting to write and post this for a long time, and I'm glad I finally did!**

**Shoutout to MadameMirage77, TurquoiseTriangle, skybluepainter, FrozenFlames12, shirkahn, and Guest for all the reviews! You guys rock!**

**NOTE: I DO NOT OWN ANY OF THE SONIC CHARACTERS**

* * *

**Chapter 9**

Sonic and Uncle Chuck came out of the emergency room, their faces grim.

"A couple of spirits got loose in the fight earlier. They'll be looking for hosts. It's nighttime already. We're going to need to make a lot of spell tags," Sonic said, already making calculations in his head.

"I could go to the old hangar. I think I left some cloth lying around there that we can cut up to make them," Uncle Chuck suggested.

"We'll go there together." Sonic nodded then looked at his friends. They were all staring at him, their eyes wide.

"Sonic, are you okay?" Amy asked, walking towards him.

"I'm fine, Ames. Just a little drained," Sonic replied, leaning against his uncle.

"Exorcising ghosts must take a lot out of you," Blaze told him, her golden eyes taking in the blue hedgehog's sagging posture.

"It does. It's really a battle of wills when you're confronted with the malicious ones. Most ghosts I've met are friendly. It's the angry ghosts you gotta watch out for," Sonic told her.

"How can you tell a friendly ghost from an angry one?" Silver asked, floating an inch off the ground.

"Let's head to my old air hangar. Sonny boy and I will explain," Uncle Chuck announced.

As the team left the hospital, Sonic kept his guard up. He couldn't see any spirits hovering around but the negative energy surrounding the island made his spines stand straight up. He shuddered, the sensation making his skin crawl. It was getting harder to keep all of his anger and sadness bottled up. He scratched at his gloves, gnashing his teeth. _'Stay focused. Don't let them get inside your head,' _he reminded himself.

Shadow and Rouge kept glancing at him the whole time they headed out of the village. As they neared an old rusting airplane hangar, the duo looked at each other and nodded.

"So," Rouge flapped over to Sonic who was leading the entire team at the front. "You can see ghosts, you can talk to ghosts, and you can exorcise them out of people, too. My, my, Blue, you are certainly full of surprises," she complimented the blue hedgehog who smiled bashfully.

"Thanks… It's something I don't tell many people about. They usually get spooked and not want to hang around with me, scared that all that negative spirit energy's gonna affect them," Sonic admitted before stopping at the door to his Uncle Chuck's old air hangar.

Looking at Uncle Chuck, Sonic saw him look at the door with a sad look on his face.

"Never thought I'd see this place again…" Uncle Chuck murmured, sniffing. All those happy memories of tinkering away at his inventions, running after Sonic when he was little, and the two of them working on the Tornado together in this hangar…

It all ended on that night.

Taking a deep breath, Uncle Chuck pried the doors open.

The hangar still looked just as how he had left it. His workbench still had the old tools lying around, some of them acting as paperweights for faded blueprints. Sheets of cloth covered gadgets and gizmos he and Sonic hadn't had the chance to finish building. And the whole place was covered in a fine layer of dust.

"Right. This spot's quite a distance away from the village. No one will spy on us while we're in here," he told Sonic and the group.

Once inside, the team sat on whatever they could sit on – be it bench, box, or stool – and listened.

"The difference between an angry ghost and a friendly ghost all boils down to what you feel when you're around them." Sonic began while Uncle Chuck gathered up all the cloth in the hangar. "Ghosts can directly affect a person's emotions, eventually causing them to think certain thoughts. If the ghost is a friendly one, you'll feel fine, happy even. And they thrive on that positive energy. Angry ghosts are dependent on negative energy. If you're feeling angry or sad, they can use that to intensify those negative emotions inside of you. The angrier you become, the angrier they get and they'll be able to possess someone and make them do their bidding," he explained.

"But you can see them, Sonic. What do ghosts usually look like?" Tails piped up.

Sonic smiled. "Ah, that's where having your third eye opened comes in handy," he said.

"Your… third eye?" Knuckles gave him a confused look.

"Not literally an eye. It's… more of a sixth sense that's located here." Sonic tapped his forehead. "It's an enhanced part of your consciousness that allows you to see more than what your eyes usually see. The third eye is usually closed and, for most of us, it stays closed. But some people can be born with their third eye already open. Other times, an accident involving the supernatural can open one's third eye by force," he elaborated before lowering his gaze to the floor.

"In my case, I had my third eye opened through a ritual," he confessed.

"Is there a chance you can perform that ritual on us?" Blaze asked him. If they could see the spirits, they'll have an advantage over Eggman.

"The ritual takes a lot of time. And time is a luxury we don't have." Sonic faced the team, his expression serious. "But I will say this. When you can see spirits, you can easily tell which ones are bad and which ones are good," he said.

"The bad spirits are the ones that look like they're covered in black fire, right?" Shadow spoke up, making everyone look at him.

For a second, Sonic was stunned speechless. Then he smirked. "Huh… So your third eye's open as well, Shads," he remarked and nodded.

"Correct. These are souls that have become corrupted due to their anger. They could have been the victims of violent deaths or they could have been denied the proper funeral rites. They'll go after anyone in order to possess them so they can get what they were denied in life. Like Shadow said, they appear to be cloaked in black flames. Sometimes, they'll take the form of gray balls of light.

"The good spirits, on the other hand, will look like transparent versions of themselves. They'll be surrounded by a light blue aura and can look like glowing white balls of light. If you see one, don't be afraid but keep a respectful distance. Some of them can be a little mischievous," said Sonic, smiling a bit.

"So how do we protect ourselves from the angry spirits, Sonic?" Tails asked.

Sonic pursed his lips as he fiddled with the cuff of his right glove. He spotted the sheets Uncle Chuck had laid out. "One sec…" he mumbled, lifting the corner of one of the sheets up and crawling underneath. The others blinked as Sonic's covered form moved under the sheet, removing his glove and putting it back on.

Sonic crawled out from under the sheet, adjusting his right glove. In his left hand was a dirty white strip of cloth with words and symbols written on it in faded black ink.

"This is called a spell tag. It's used to ward off spirits with negative intentions. As long as you're wearing one, a ghost can't get close enough to affect you." Looking at Uncle Chuck, he nodded. "We're gonna need your help in making more of these. One for each of you and more to tie around the doorknobs of the houses on this island," he instructed.

Everyone got to work, gathering scissors and anything else they could use to cut all of the cloth into strips. Sonic made a spell tag for Tails, showing his little brother and his friends how to draw the symbols and characters meant to ward off evil. For a while, the hangar was silent save for the sound of cloth being cut and the soft scratching of pens and markers.

Shadow sat next to Sonic, writing down the symbols onto his own spell tag. He glanced at Sonic who was busy making several more. The blue hedgehog's hands were a blur, stacking finished spell tags to his left while grabbing more blank strips to write on. His own spell tag sat on the floor close by and he often glanced at it to make sure he was writing the correct symbols in the right sequence.

Unable to contain his curiosity, Shadow reached out to touch Sonic's spell tag. "This looks pretty old. Why not make a new one for yourself?" he suggested.

Sonic paused from his work, one hand reaching out to firmly move Shadow's hand away from his spell tag. "I've worn that spell tag since I was ten. It's never failed to protect me," he said.

"You sure know a lot about all of this. Ghosts and exorcisms…" Red eyes flicked over to look into green. "Where'd you learn all of this, Sonic?" Shadow asked quietly.

Sonic finished making one final spell tag. Then, slowly, he put his own spell tag back on, tucking it under his right glove. "I was taught by a few experts," he said, smiling slightly.

* * *

_He'd gotten some strength back after taking a nap. With Fatima's help, Sonic went downstairs to the living room. There, while waiting for his Uncle Chuck and Fatima's grandmother and mother to come back, he was introduced to Fatima's four ghost friends._

_Sonic studied the drawing Fatima gave him, occasionally looking up at Fatima who was playing checkers on the floor with one of her ghost friends. The red pieces moved on the board with no visible hands, but Sonic knew that it was a ghost Fatima was playing against. Going back to the drawing, he found that all of Fatima's ghost friends looked really unique and had their own stories to tell._

_There was Fatima's grandfather, Lolo Enrique, who wore horn-rimmed glasses and green suspenders paired with a striped button-down shirt. According to Fatima, he'd been a lumberjack in his youth before moving to Mobotropolis to become a landscaper._

_Then there was Sergeant Juni, a burly black-furred bulldog decked out in full military gear. Fatima, upon introducing him, had told Sonic that Sergeant Juni had been close to getting promoted to Master Sergeant when he'd been killed in action during a reconnaissance mission. _

_Doña Celia was a female hedgehog wearing a red skirt with golden lace and a cream-colored blouse with wide bell-shaped sleeves that was covered by a white scarf pinned to the front with a gold brooch. She was one of Fatima's ancestors from the province and loved to eavesdrop on the neighbors to hear gossip._

_Finally, there was Emily, a little gray squirrel who always had a large rainbow lollipop in her hand. She had gotten really sick and one of the last gifts her parents gave her before she died was the rainbow lollipop she always carried around._

_"Hey, Fatima. Do all of your friends have unfinished business?" Sonic asked from his spot on the couch._

_Fatima took another red piece off the board. "Unfinished business?" she asked, looking at him curiously._

_"You know… things they didn't get to accomplish while they were alive. All movies with ghosts show them having unfinished business," Sonic said, shrugging. She saw Fatima look at nothing, her brows furrowed. 'I wish I could hear what the ghosts are saying…' he thought, looking at the empty air._

_Finally, Fatima spoke. "Well, it's true that a lot of souls linger because there were some things they didn't get to do or still have to do. But that doesn't apply to all ghosts. Some of them just like hanging out here in our world and they don't really want to cross over. My friends don't have any unfinished business. They just want to stay here with me, Mama, and Lola," she explained before grinning. "But Lolo Enrique says that he stays here so that Lola can have company. When her time comes, she and Lolo will cross over to the afterlife together. It's so romantic!" she gushed._

_"So all four of them have been your friends for a long time?" Sonic inquired._

_"Yup! Since I was born. They're my guardians. They keep the bad spirits away from me and my family." Fatima nodded._

_"Bad spirits?" Sonic's eyes widened. "Like the ones in the horror movies?"_

_Before Fatima could answer, the front door opened. In came Uncle Chuck, Lola Elena, and Rosario._

_"I can't believe the nerve of those people! And the police are backing those… those devils! The justice system on this island is corrupted, I swear to God!" Lola Elena fumed, whipping her shawl off in a huff._

_Uncle Chuck sighed and plopped down on the couch next to Sonic. "How are you feeling, Sonny boy?" he asked softly, patting his nephew's head._

_"A lot better, Unk. What's got Lola Elena so mad?" Sonic asked quietly as he and Fatima watched the elderly hedgehog stomp into the kitchen._

_"We tried to tell the police about what those kids did to you, Sonic. But they wouldn't even believe us. So we went to the parents and demanded an apology from their children. Those kids had guilty looks on their faces but they didn't say a word," Rosario told him, frowning._

_Sonic's ears drooped. Even the system had let him and his Uncle Chuck down. "I don't understand… Sure, I can run faster than everyone on the island but I never used my speed to hurt anyone. Why do they gotta pick on me?" he whimpered._

_"Some people just don't like anything different…" Lola Elena emerged from the kitchen, holding a tray filled with iced gems and cups of tea. Placing it on the coffee table, she sat down on the floor next to Fatima. "That's something you can try to change but, ultimately, it'll be up to those people to change their behavior," she said._

_Clenching his fists, Sonic decided to let it all out. "Well… I hate people like that! And I'll make them pay for what they did!" he exclaimed._

_"Sonic…" Uncle Chuck gripped his nephew's hand._

_"Now, now, none of that." Rosario gave Sonic a stern look. "Revenge won't solve anything, young man. If anything, it'll just make things worse," she told him._

_"But… But they're bullies…" Sonic protested weakly._

_"And if you decide to use your power against them, then you'll become a bully yourself. Do you really want that?" Rosario handed him a cup of tea._

_Taking a sip, Sonic thought about it. He knew that his speed gave him power. If he wasn't careful, like his Uncle Chuck told him, it could become a weapon. The thought of him using his power, making a sonic boom as he dashed past his daily tormentors, sounded like a fitting punishment. But then he envisioned Arthur, Jayden, Lloyd, and Hughie getting hurt by the force and felt disgusted with himself._

_What he could do to them with his speed… was probably going to be a lot worse than what they did to him._

_"No… I don't want that. If I do… then I really will be a monster like they told me I was," he whispered._

_"You're not a monster, Sonic." Uncle Chuck gently lifted his nephew onto his lap. "Your speed is your power. And one of these days, that power might just be what the world needs," he reassured him._

_"He's right!" Fatima held out a hand filled with iced gems to Sonic and Uncle Chuck. "Like… if a building was on fire, you can run in there and save everyone before it's too late! You can be a real hero," she said, her eyes sparkling. _

_Sonic hid his red muzzle behind his cup of tea, taking a long sip, while his uncle accepted Fatima's iced gems._

_"I bet your family's done a lot of good for the spirits of this island, Fatima. You have a pretty amazing power, too," Uncle Chuck remarked._

_Fatima blushed and giggled. "Well, we did help a few souls find peace. It's not much, but we do our best," she said._

_Sonic perked up. "Hey, by the way, Fatima, you said that your friends keep the bad spirits away. What do bad spirits look like?" he asked._

_Fatima smiled and looked at her mother and grandmother. "Mama, Lola, you two are the experts," she piped up._

_"Well, hijo…" Lola Elena got up and sat next to Uncle Chuck while Rosario sat next to Fatima. The checkerboard moved out of the way, levitating off the ground._

_"All right, my love. You and the others can help us with this." At Lola Elena's go signal, the ghosts in Fatima's house gathered up all the checker pieces. _

_Sonic watched, entranced, as the pieces floated in the air and organized themselves into two separate groups – black and red._

_"I feel like a professor giving a lecture." Lola Elena chuckled. Waving to the pieces, she said, "Now, we'll pretend that the black pieces are the bad spirits and the red pieces are the good spirits."_

_"And," Rosario scooped up a handful of iced gems that the ghosts also lifted up into the air to float before Sonic and Uncle Chuck. "these iced gems will represent us living folk," she added._

_Lola Elena and Rosario both had a flair for theatrics as they taught about ghosts and their connections to the living world. Even with simple props, they still made the lesson fun and engaging for Sonic. Every now and then, Fatima would pipe up and mention another cool spirit fact._

_When the lesson was over, both Sonic and Uncle Chuck had learned a great deal. Then, with a shy smile, Sonic got off the couch._

_"Lolo Enrique, Sergeant Juni, Doña Celia, Emily, thank you for helping Fatima save me. I know I can't see you guys, but… I really hope we can be friends," he said, bowing deeply._

_Fatima smiled, her head tilting to the side. "They say, "You're welcome, Sonic. We want to be your friend, too… And," Blushing, she looked Sonic in the eye. "they hope that… you and I can be friends, too," she said shyly._

_"I'd love to be your friend, Fatima!" Sonic said, straightening up. Holding his hand out, he grinned. "You're something else, saving me and being able to see and talk to ghosts and all. You're way past cool and I want to be your friend!"_

_The smile Fatima gave him was something he would always remember. It was a big smile that made little dimples appear on her cheeks as her eyes sparkled. "I want to be your friend, too, Sonic. Okay! Starting today, you and I are officially friends!" she declared, taking his hand in hers._

_Sonic laughed and looked at Uncle Chuck, who chuckled. "Unk! I have a friend!" he cheered._

_"Well, if you and Fatima are friends," Uncle Chuck looked at Lola Elena and Rosario with a smile. "I can't thank you two and your daughter enough for saving my nephew. If you ever need anything repaired or want to kill some time, just come by to our place," he said._

_"Charles, you're too kind," Lola Elena replied before looking at a certain spot by her shoulder. "Oh, don't get your suspenders in a twist, Enrique."_

_Rosario laughed. "I didn't take you to be the jealous type, Papa," she said, making her mother and Uncle Chuck blush._

_"Lolo is blushing!" Fatima giggled. _

_"So is Unk!" Sonic pointed at his uncle's red cheeks, grinning. Looking at Fatima, Sonic felt as if his birthday and Christmas had arrived all on the same day._

_At long last… he finally had a friend._

* * *

Sonic inspected Shadow's spell tag, giving the black hedgehog a nod. "The symbols are cleanly-written. That miracle eye… not bad. You're good to go, Shads," he said, tying the spell tag around Shadow's right wrist right below the inhibitor ring.

Shadow schooled his facial expression into something neutral as Sonic did this. He silently hoped his cheeks weren't turning red. _'I could have tied the thing by myself,' _he thought. And Sonic's praise on his spell tag's writing made him feel… weird. A proud type of weird.

But Shadow decided not to dwell on those feelings as Sonic got up to inspect the others' progress. Once everyone had their spell tags on and several more in their possession, Tails pulled up a map of Christmas Island.

"We'll have to spread out if we want to get all of these spell tags to the villagers. And we'll need to scout out Eggman's factory for weaknesses," he told Sonic and Uncle Chuck.

"Right. Amy, Knuckles, you two are assigned to the residential area up North. Blaze and Silver, head over to the West. That's where the school's located. Tails, you'll accompany Sonic and I at the village plaza," Uncle Chuck pointed to various sections of the map, highlighting the key areas where potential Badnik attacks could happen.

"Shadow, that leaves you and your team. Head to Eggman's factory and do some recon. Remember, there's a high chance that the factory's swarming with spirits. Stay hidden and do not engage hostiles," Sonic instructed.

"I WISH TO ANNIHILATE ALL EGGMAN ROBOTS." Omega lifted a hand up but was quickly silenced by a stern look from Sonic.

"You can count on us, Blue," Rouge said, saluting Sonic.

The team split up and started leaving the hangar. Just as Team Dark was about to head out, Sonic turned to Shadow.

"Be careful out there. Those spirits… they can make you feel really bad things, think bad thoughts," he said quietly.

Shadow noticed how tightly Sonic was clenching his fists. Was he being affected by all of the negative energy saturating Christmas Island this whole time?

"…Understood," said Shadow, his jet skates flaring to life. He dashed off into the night, Rouge and Omega flying above him.

"All right. We got a lot of ground to cover. Let's move out!" Sonic said, Tails and Uncle Chuck following him back to the village plaza.

* * *

At the factory, Eggman was cowering underneath his master control panel. Multo hovered above him, humming softly. Her dark aura poured out of her form, covering Eggman and making him tremble.

"Stop… Please… I'm begging you… Have mercy…" Eggman pleaded as every awful memory flashed through his eyes. Every bitter defeat, every single instance where he was ridiculed and cut down… it was as if he was reliving them all at once.

"_**Mercy is something only those who are truly sorry can receive. You're never truly sorry for all the bad things you've done, Doctor," **_Multo told him, humming a little louder.

Eggman was close to tears by the time a few of Multo's spirit henchmen flew into the room. They hissed and buzzed frantically, making Multo pause from her little torture session.

"_**I see. They're looking for weaknesses, are they?" **_Multo smiled, noticing the box of bones left in one corner of the room. _**"What perfect timing," **_she said, turning back into a fireball and possessing Eggman again. Getting up, the Doctor tapped a few buttons.

* * *

"Something's not right…" Rouge muttered, flapping high above the factory. All of the security cameras surrounding the perimeter were shutting down along with all of the traps.

"The whole place is shutting down."

Shadow crouched down low beneath some bushes. He heard Omega readying his guns and lightly smacked the robot's arm. "Don't," he hissed, spotting a few ghosts floating nearby. They were all covered in black fire, their forms giving off an eerie gray light.

"I've spotted an opening at the East side. All clear," Rouge reported, flying down. Shadow and Omega entered the factory and quickly made their way to the rendezvous point. To Team Dark's confusion, not a single Badnik was around.

"They must have spotted us and alerted the Doctor," Shadow muttered as they padded down the dark hallways.

"Then those Badniks should be swarming us by now. What's going on here?" Rouge murmured as they turned at a corner… and found a whole group of Ghost Badniks waiting for them.

"WE ARE PROTECTED. YOU CANNOT TOUCH US." Omega held up both arms, showing the spell tags wrapped around him.

At the sight of the spell tags, the orbs inside each Ghost Badnik screeched. To Shadow and Rouge's amazement, every Badnik backed off.

"_**Easy there. No need to start firing on us."**_

The Ghost Badniks parted to the sides, revealing Dr. Eggman, Orbot, and Cubot.

Shadow's quills bristled at the dark aura surrounding the villain. _'That's got to be Multo possessing him,' _he thought as Dr. Eggman walked towards him and Rouge.

"_**I see you three have come prepared," **_Multo said in Eggman's voice. _**"Powerful things, spell tags. Ooh, even I'm starting to feel a little nervous."**_

"Cut the small talk, Multo. What are you doing to Eggman?" Shadow asked coolly.

For a minute, the Doctor stared at Shadow in disbelief. Then, suddenly, his entire form convulsed as a black fireball emerged from his chest. Orbot and Cubot rushed to their creator's side as Multo appeared before Team Dark.

"_**What a surprise. You've heard of me." **_The ghost stared at Shadow.

"Two of your lackeys were banished by Sonic earlier. You're the one pulling all the strings here," Shadow told her.

"_**You're Sonic's friend?" **_Multo asked, floating closer to the black hedgehog. Rouge moved to stand in front of Shadow.

"If you think about possessing him, ghost girl, you've got another thing—"

Shadow's eyes widened as Multo casually waved her left hand to the side. Rouge was gently pushed aside and levitated a foot off the ground. Now Multo was standing just a few inches away from him, and he could feel all the anger, the pain, and the sadness that seemed to radiate off of her. Despite being covered in flames, the air around her was cold and smelled like smoke and, oddly enough, slightly floral.

Multo's blank white eyes drilled into Shadow's ruby for a moment before she smiled, her smile sending chills up Shadow's spine. _**"Well, any friend of Sonic's is a friend of mine," **_she said, snapping her fingers.

A ghost appeared, carrying a rolled-up blueprint which Multo accepted with a nod.

"_**Here you go." **_Multo held out the blueprint to Shadow. _**"It's a complete map of the entire factory. I highlighted a few portions so you can see the weak spots. That way it'll make destroying the whole joint easier for you guys," **_she said brightly.

Rouge and Shadow gaped at her. What was this ghost playing at?!

"_**You don't believe me? Check it out for yourselves," **_Multo told them, one hand on her hip.

Snatching the blueprint, Shadow checked. True to Multo's word, it was all there. Floor plans, schematics of the generators powering Eggman's factory, and highlighted portions indicating weaknesses in infrastructure and security.

"What are you planning?" Shadow narrowed his eyes at Multo.

"_**I, like Sonic, seek to punish those who have done wrong." **_Multo floated over to Eggman, propping him up like a puppet on a string. _**"Eggman's done so much bad in this world. It's only fitting I help the heroes take him down," **_she said.

"Well, what's in it for you then?" Rouge, now free from her grip, stomped over to her. "Your fellow ghosts have been terrorizing everybody on the island," she accused.

"_**They deserve it!" **_Multo snarled, her eyes turning jet black with red irises. The temperature spiked, making Rouge and Shadow back off.

"_**Sorry. That tends to happen when I get riled up," **_Multo apologized, shutting her eyes. As soon as the temperature went back to being cool, she opened her eyes again. _**"All you three need to know is that the people of Christmas Island are horrible and they must suffer for their crimes," **_she said coldly, motioning to Orbot and Cubot.

The two robots gulped, carrying a covered wooden box over to Team Dark.

"_**You're all free to go. Just a little favor, though. Aside from that blueprint, please bring this box to Sonic for me. I won't take no for an answer," **_Multo requested, gently pushing the two robots forward.

Omega moved to take the box from Orbot and Cubot. But, as he tried to open the lid, Multo wagged a finger at him. _**"Nope. Sorry, big guy. You can't open that. Sonic's got to be the one to do it," **_she told him.

"Listen to her, man. Don't make her mad…" Cubot whispered, his voice quavering.

"Just follow her instructions. You don't want to know what happens when she loses her temper," Orbot whispered, visibly trembling.

Omega moved his hand away from the lid and took the box.

"_**Okay, you three, off you go! Bye!" **_Multo held up the Doctor's limp hand and waved it at Rouge, Shadow, and Omega.

Backing away slowly, the trio kept their eyes on Multo and the Ghost Badniks behind her as they left. All three of them were rattled. They had no idea what kind of game Multo was playing but, for now, it looked like she was almost playing the role of an ally.

But it didn't change the fact that she had caused a lot of trouble for the people of Christmas Island. And, one way or another, they were going to get to the bottom of this.

"Don't you think frightening Sonic with a box of bones is going a little too far, Ms. Multo?" Orbot asked the ghost hedgehog.

"_**Oh, I don't want to frighten Sonic." **_Multo grinned, showing all of her sharp white teeth, as Team Dark exited the factory. _**"I want to make him mad," **_she purred.

* * *

**For those of you who think that Multo's villainy has taken a sudden downturn and that she's crazy for giving up all of Eggman's secrets to Team Dark, I will say this: There is a method to her madness. **

**Next chapter, heads up, Sonic is going to be **_**pissed**_**.**

**Until then, read and review!**

**-GuardianDragon98**


	10. Chapter 10

**Thank you to FrozenFlames12 for helping me with this chapter. I've been wanting to show this chapter to you all. Finally, we get to see Sonic drop his cheerful façade and RAGE.**

**Enjoy!**

**NOTE: I DO NOT OWN ANY OF THE SONIC CHARACTERS!**

* * *

**Chapter 10**

"All right. This is my last one," Tails said, tying a spell tag around another house's doorknob. Thanking the owner, he jogged on back to Uncle Chuck and Sonic. He followed the two hedgehogs to the next house. As he looked around at all the houses surrounding the plaza, with their doorknobs all adorned with spell tags, Tails hoped that none of them would be visited by more ghosts tonight. While he didn't doubt Sonic's knowledge about the supernatural, he really didn't want to have to encounter a spirit tonight to see if the spell tags really worked.

After hitting a couple more houses, their group's supply of spell tags was almost depleted.

"Just a few more houses. I've got about eight left, Sonic. How many do you have?" Uncle Chuck asked.

"Two. Let's go around the plaza one more time to see if we missed any buildings," Sonic suggested just as a little girl's voice called out.

"Mom! Look, it's him! Hi, Mr. Sonic!"

Sophie Pandara bounded over to the Blue Blur, waving enthusiastically. "Whatcha doing out so late?" she asked, bouncing on her toes.

Sonic chuckled, giving Elsie a high five. "My friends and I are going on patrol to make sure those nasty Badniks don't come back," he explained.

Sophie's eyes widened. "Oh, you mean the ones with the scary ghosts?" she asked.

"Yup. And we're going around tying spell tags on everyone's doors so the angry ghosts can't come and hurt them." Sonic smiled and showed the panda cub one of the two remaining spell tags he had on hand. "But… you know. It's safer to wear one of these. You can have this one if you like," he offered.

"Spell tags and ghost protection… What kind of nonsense are you talking about?"

Tails noticed an older panda hurrying over to Sophie and Sonic. Glancing at Uncle Chuck, Tails saw the older hedgehog frowning.

Sonic, on the other hand, sighed as he faced Sophie's mother. "In case you hadn't noticed, Elsie, the island's been having a ghost problem since you people let Eggman come here," he said flatly.

For a minute, Elsie Pandara stared until recognition flashed through her eyes. "Mau—"

"It's _Sonic _now," Sonic cut her off before turning to Sophie, who smiled at him. "Here, kid. You can have this," he said, kneeling down to tie the spell tag around Sophie's wrist.

"Thank you, Mr. Sonic!" Sophie admired the symbols written on her tag before looking at her mother. "Mom, you should get a spell tag too so the angry ghosts won't hurt you," she said then noticed the other spell tag in Sonic's hand.

"Can my Mom have that one, Mr. Sonic?" she asked politely.

Sonic unconsciously tightened his grip on the spell tag as he looked up at Elsie. The mother panda bit her lip and looked away. Suddenly, it was as if she was an entirely different person from the bully she used to be in his eyes.

"_Look, it's the blue freak and the witch!" _

"_You two can't sit with us, weirdos!"_

The old taunts Elsie used to hurl at him and Fatima while at school echoed in Sonic's ears as he handed Elsie his last spell tag.

"Thank you…" Elsie mumbled while Sophie skipped on ahead of her.

"I'm only doing this so your daughter and all the other kids here don't get hurt," Sonic muttered as Uncle Chuck and Tails walked past him to find more houses. "Frankly, I could care less about you and all the other adults on this damn island. If you guys end up getting haunted, it's not my problem anymore."

Tails paused to look back at his brother, his eyes wide. How could Sonic say such a thing?!

Elsie gaped at Sonic, who merely glared at her. Her mouth opened and closed but no sound came out. Without saying another word to her, Sonic walked past her without batting an eyelid to catch up with his group.

"Sonic, how could you say that? We're trying to help these people, not intimidate them," Tails scolded the blue hedgehog, who had the decency to look chastised.

"Sorry, buddy. But… you don't know these people like I do. They won't accept help from anyone they see as different," Sonic said quietly.

Tails looked up at him, his twin tails twirling behind him. "Still… that doesn't sound like a good reason to hold a grudge. What did they do to make you so… _bitter_?" he asked.

Looking back at Elsie, the mother panda still standing there in shock, Sonic clenched his fists. "They know what they did," he growled before running on ahead.

Tails could only watch his brother speed off into the night, his head filled with questions. He looked to Uncle Chuck, hoping that the older hedgehog could shed some light on the situation. But Uncle Chuck merely sighed, his shoulders slumping. His face was etched with a look of great sadness that Tails couldn't quite fathom.

'_I'm worried about you, bro. What is it about Christmas Island that makes you hate it so much?' _Tails thought as he and Uncle Chuck did a final round around the village plaza.

* * *

_Sonic let out a soft sigh, stretching his arms up and crossing them behind his head. The wind blew gently through the Century Tree's boughs, making a soft whooshing sound. Beside him, he heard Fatima let out a soft sigh of her own and smiled._

_Four years have passed since that fateful day when Fatima saved his life. And they've been best friends ever since. Fatima even gave him a nickname, "Blue Streak." She'd bestowed it upon him after she saw him really run for the first time, fast enough to almost break the sound barrier, not long after they met. And "Blue Streak" was a nickname Sonic was proud to be called by._

_Sonic couldn't help but feel like he was the luckiest hedgehog in all of Mobius to have such a cool friend like Fatima. Her ability to see and talk to ghosts was just the tip of the iceberg. Fatima was kind and caring, always ready to help anyone in need. Whether it was an injured Flickie or a grumpy old man who needed help with carrying his groceries, Fatima helped them in any way that she could. She had a great imagination and loved to read books that told of adventures set in faraway places, the latter being a hobby that he soon picked up from her. _

_They walked to school together, sat next to each other in class, and played together in the far corner of the playground so nobody would bother them. And if the bullies tried to bother them as they walked home to school, they would run away to the safety of the forest where Fatima would spend hours talking to the ghosts who had made it their home._

_Other times, they would go to a flower field located just outside of the forest. There, they would play games of their own invention. Sometimes, Fatima would change the rules without Sonic's knowledge but that didn't stop him from enjoying the game._

_But, today, they decided to take it easy under the Century Tree and just lie down under its fresh-smelling branches._

_Looking up at the Century Tree's wide-spreading branches, Sonic couldn't help but be in awe of the pine tree's magnificence. He'd been living on Christmas Island for ten years now and the tree still looks like it's going to keep on growing._

_How in Mobius did a pine tree manage to grow so big and so tall? Would it grow tall enough to reach space someday? And, every year, the villagers manage to put Christmas decorations all around the tree. Even a star at the very top! How could the Century Tree handle the weight of so many decorations all at once? _

_A pine cone dropping at his feet brought Sonic out of his musings. Sitting up, he noticed Fatima constantly looking from one spot to the next. He felt the familiar cold around him and smiled. Four years of being best friends with Fatima, who was only a year younger than him at nine-years-old, had meant he had grown accustomed to being around her ghost friends. While he couldn't see Lolo Enrique, Doña Celia, Sergeant Juni, and Emily, he could sense their presence. And having those four particular ghosts around made him feel safe._

_Fatima giggled, making Sonic look at her curiously. "What are you laughing about, Fatima?" he asked her._

"_Oh, Lolo Enrique was just telling me a story," Fatima replied, giggling again._

"_What was it about?" Sonic leaned forward, eager to hear the tale._

_Fatima smiled, twirling one of her quills. "It was about the one time he and the others took me up to the very top of the Century Tree when I was a baby," she said, making Sonic's jaw drop._

"_No way! You made it to the very top of the Century Tree?!" Sonic gasped, craning his neck up to look at the barely-visible pinnacle of the massive pine tree._

"_That's what Lolo Enrique told me. I don't remember much, though. I was two. Apparently, I wanted to see what the top of the Century Tree looked like. So, when Mama and Lola took me to the plaza on a day out, Lolo Enrique, Sergeant Juni, Doña Celia, and Emily lifted me out of my stroller when their backs were turned. And they carried me all the way to the top. The only thing I can remember was seeing a lot of branches before suddenly seeing the sky and a lot of clouds," Fatima told him, gazing up at the Century Tree's boughs with a smile._

"_Wow…" Sonic breathed out, looking up as well. He can only imagine the view Fatima must have seen from up there, at the very top._

_Then, he grinned. "Were Lola Elena and your Mom worried when they turned around and saw you missing from your stroller?" he asked._

"_Oh, yeah. And, when they saw Lolo Enrique and the others carrying me back down the tree, they. Were. Furious. Mama wouldn't let them go near me for weeks. And I think Lola threatened to make Lolo Enrique cross over to the afterlife early if he did something like that ever again," Fatima said, making Sonic laugh._

"_You think if I went really fast, I could run all the way up to the very top of this tree?" Sonic asked._

_Fatima shrugged. "Maybe. But you gotta run real fast, Blue Streak," she told him._

"_You bet I will!" Sonic puffed out his chest. "I'm Sonic "Blue Streak" the Hedgehog, and I'm the fastest thing alive!" he declared._

_Fatima giggled, sitting up. For a while, they sat together under the Century Tree in comfortable silence. Then, they heard footsteps and looked in front to see Arthur, Ashley, Elsie, Hughie, Jayden, Karla, and Lloyd approaching._

"_Hey, freaks. What are you two doing here?" Ashley narrowed her eyes at the two._

_Sonic glared at her. "Nothing," he told her._

"_You guys aren't allowed here." Karla put her hands on her hips, baring her teeth._

"_It's a public space, Karla," Fatima pointed out._

"_You freaks are tainting the Century Tree with your freakishness," Arthur said, his baseball bat resting across his shoulders._

_Sonic rolled his eyes. "If you guys want us to leave, just say it," he retorted._

"_Fine." Ashley stood over the two hedgehogs. "Leave," she snarled._

"_Okay, okay…" Sonic held up his hands, getting up. _

_Fatima got up as well, her coal-black eyes glancing at the group surrounding her and Sonic. She gulped, following Sonic away from the Century Tree. But she had barely taken two steps when Hughie suddenly grabbed her garland of jasmine flowers from behind. _

"_Look at this! The witch is wearing flowers to mask her witch stink!" Hughie shouted, roughly pulling at the garland and causing Fatima to yelp._

"_Hey! Leave her alone!" Sonic yelled just as Arthur and Jayden shoved him into the Century Tree's trunk. _

"_Awww, is Maurice the freak trying to protect the witch?" Elsie asked mockingly._

"_Ha! These two freaks belong together!" Lloyd laughed._

"_Leave us alone!" Fatima yelled. Hughie pinned Fatima's hands behind her back as Ashley walked over to her._

"_Funny. Witches are supposed to have marks on them to show that they're aligned with the devil. You don't have one," the young lioness remarked, her claws coming out._

"_No! Ashley, don't you dare!" Sonic yelled, fighting against Arthur and Jayden's grip._

_Fatima whimpered as Ashley raised her hand, claws poised to strike._

"_I'll give you one so everyone will know just what kind of witch you are!" Ashley snarled._

_But before Ashley could strike, she was suddenly flung backward and landed in a heap several feet away from Fatima. Hughie screamed as he was suddenly pulled away from Fatima and given the same treatment. Arthur and Jayden were pulled off of Sonic and tossed out onto the street, landing on their backsides. _

"_The witch is using her powers!" Lloyd yelled then a pine cone suddenly hit him on the nose. Elsie and Karla shrieked as several pine cones lying scattered around the Century Tree suddenly started floating in the air._

_Sonic rushed over to Fatima as pine cones started getting thrown at the bullies by invisible hands. "Fatima, are you okay?" he asked, frantically checking for injuries._

"_I'm okay." Fatima cringed as she saw Ashley get pelted by pine cones. Quickly, she rolled her shoulders back and shouted, "STOP IT!" at the top of her lungs._

_The pine cones dropped to the ground. Fatima breathed a sigh of relief then looked at Ashley and her crew with a guilty look._

"_You witch!" Ashley bit her lip as tears rolled down her cheeks. "We're gonna tell on you!" she shouted as her group started shouting for help._

"_Oh, boy…" Sonic groaned, seeing some adults running over to the Century Tree. Quickly, he scooped Fatima up, carrying her bridal style. "Hang on!" he warned her before running out of the village plaza, becoming a blue streak as he sped off with his best friend holding on to him for dear life._

_He didn't stop until they reached the flower field. Putting down Fatima, Sonic stretched. "Man, we can't even sit under the Century Tree without getting mobbed!" he huffed._

"_Yeah, well, what else is new?" Fatima rolled her eyes before glaring at a particular spot of empty air in front of her. "I know you guys want to protect me. But that doesn't mean you hurt people. It'll just make things worse," she said sternly._

"_But you gotta admit that they sometimes deserve it," Sonic said as they sat amongst the flowers. "Ashley deserved it. I mean, she nearly clawed you, Fatima."_

_Fatima hugged herself, biting her lip. She shivered, remembering the gleam of Ashley's claws just inches from her face._

_Seeing how distressed she was, Sonic frowned and gently placed his hands on Fatima's shoulders. "Hey, Fatima… I'm sorry," he apologized, making Fatima look at him in confusion._

"_For what?" she asked._

"_I wasn't able to protect you…" Sonic lowered his gaze, his ears drooping. Then a determined gleam filled his eyes. "But I won't let it happen again. I'll protect you, Fatima. I won't let them hurt you again," he promised._

_Fatima looked into his eyes before smiling. "Thanks, Blue Streak…" she whispered._

_Sonic grinned. "Let's just hang out here from now on," he suggested._

"_Agreed."_

_The clouds drifted lazily across the sky as Sonic and Fatima played in the flower field for the rest of the afternoon. They played tag (a game where Sonic nearly always won), hide and seek, then they pretended to be Knights of the Round Table._

"_Halt, beast! It is I, Sir Sonic! Knight of the Wind!" Sonic brandished a stick in the air, facing down an imaginary dragon._

"_And I am Lady Fatima! Knight of Spirits!" Fatima held her own stick, holding it out in front of her. "We have come to end your reign of terror!" she declared before she and Sonic charged at their imaginary adversary with fierce battle cries._

_They waved their "swords" in the air, yelling out battle maneuvers to each other until bursting into laughter. They laid down on the grass to catch their breath. The sweet smell of the flowers wafted through the air, calming them._

_After a while, Sonic spoke up. "Is your family still looking to move out of here?" he asked._

"_Mhm. We almost have enough money saved up for it. And Lola's been talking with an old friend from her home province. They've got a few houses there that might be okay for us," Fatima answered, looking up at the clouds._

"_Oh… That's… that's good." Sonic felt his chest tighten a bit. He knew that Fatima and her family had been planning to move back to Lola Elena's home province for a long time. They just needed to save a little more money and then they could leave Christmas Island for good._

"_What about you, Blue Streak?" Fatima looked at him. "You said that you and Uncle Chuck were gonna move to Mobotropolis soon. When's that gonna be?" she asked curiously._

"_Oh, soon, soon…" Sonic said, his cheeks turning pink._

_Truth be told, Uncle Chuck had wanted them to leave Christmas Island after Sonic had recovered from the injuries he sustained from being thrown into the ocean. The incident with Arthur, Hughie, Jayden, Lloyd, and the muzzle had been the final straw for Uncle Chuck. He would not let his nephew suffer any more mistreatment. Maintaining the secrecy of his projects for Mobotropolis, be damned. He never should have let Sonic stay with him in such a toxic environment and vowed to take his nephew away so he could raise him somewhere where he wouldn't be treated as an outcast._

_But Sonic had pleaded with him to stay. He didn't want to leave. Not when he had just made his first real friend. Who would protect Fatima and her family? They were being treated horribly by the other villagers, too. They had to stick together._

_Uncle Chuck had caved into Sonic's pleas, seeing how happy his nephew was around Fatima. Over the years, they had gotten really close to Fatima's family and vice versa. _

_But Sonic knew that, once Fatima and her family moved, he and Uncle Chuck would leave Christmas Island for good as well. Which was fine with him. If it hadn't been for Fatima, he would have left Christmas Island a long time ago._

"_Mobotropolis is pretty far from the province. I might not be able to visit you that often," Fatima admitted, fiddling with her garland. Looking at Sonic, she smiled. "You better come and visit me instead, Blue Streak."_

"_I will." Sonic nodded. Suddenly, he got up. "Hey, Fatima, I have an idea," he said._

_Sitting up, Fatima tilted her head to the side. When Sonic had an idea, it was usually a big one._

"_When we grow up, let's travel the world together. You and me, we'll go places no one's ever been to before. And we'll live by our own rules, just moving ahead and doing things our way," Sonic said, his emerald eyes sparkling, and held out his hand._

"_What do you say?"_

_Fatima stared at Sonic, mouth slightly open, for a few seconds as she comprehended Sonic's idea. Then she gave him a wide smile. "That sounds awesome, Sonic! I'm in!" she cheered, shaking her best friend's hand. Then her expression became thoughtful. "But… we will need to ask permission from our families first," she added._

"_I know. We'll ask them when we're older. But can you imagine it?" Sonic threw his arms out wide. "The two of us going on adventures every day? Running through all sorts of places? Ooh, if we go to a haunted house, I bet you'll make a ton of friends and even help some ghosts find peace so they can cross over. That'd be way past cool," he said._

_Fatima nodded. "Yeah. I can finally fulfill my dream of becoming a paranormal investigator," she murmured, picking a few flowers._

_Sonic chuckled, watching Fatima's fingers deftly twist the stems together to make a flower crown. Then Fatima looked up from her work and said, "Don't worry, Lolo. I'll be okay on my travels. Sonic will protect me." Then looked at Sonic with a soft smile._

_Feeling his cheeks turn warm, Sonic looked away. But he smiled, feeling butterflies fill his stomach. He was glad he finally told Fatima his plan. Even if they were going to be moving to different parts of the world, at least they could visit each other. And, hopefully, in the future… they would get to travel together._

_He felt Fatima's ghost friends' surround him, the air around him turning chilly. He felt lighter than air. He felt invisible fingers comb through his quills. It was probably Doña Celia. She was a fashionista and liked to make sure he and Fatima looked their best each and every day. He felt a cold spot on his lap. Emily must want him to give her a head ruffle._

'_They've done so much for Fatima and I. They've protected us from the bullies. They try their best to make us laugh. I've even been able to get a chance to experience what weightlessness feels like when they pick me up and carry me off the ground. I wish I can see them… so I can thank them myself and get to know them more without having to bother Fatima to act as our go-between…' Sonic thought._

_Suddenly, another idea popped into his head. "Hey Fatima…" He mulled over his words a bit before deciding to just go for it. "Is it possible for you and your family to open my third eye?" he asked._

_Fatima's mother, Rosario, had told him about the third eye before. Back when he'd been curious to know how she, Fatima, and Lola Elena could see ghosts. A significant detail Rosario had mentioned was the need for a certain ritual to be performed if a person with a closed third eye wanted to open it. If he could have his third eye opened, he could finally see the things Fatima was able to see._

_Fatima tied the last few stems together, finishing her flower crown. "I don't know, Blue Streak. It's one thing to grow up with your third eye open since birth. It's another to have it opened at a later point in your life. You have to learn how to get used to it, otherwise… you'll always end up feeling anxious about going out because you'll never know what you're gonna see lurking among the living," she said quietly._

"_I'm willing to take that risk." Sonic shifted so he was facing Fatima. "I want to see the world the way you see it," he told her earnestly._

_Fatima put a hand to her chin. After a while, she asked, "Does Uncle Chuck know about this?"_

"_Yeah! I've been talking to him about it and he said that if I'm ready to take on that kind of responsibility, seeing spirits and all, he's okay with it," Sonic replied._

_Fatima smiled and placed her finished flower crown on Sonic's head. "All right. I'll talk to Mama and Lola and see if they can perform the ritual on you," she said at last._

"_Aw, yeah!" Sonic cheered, pumping his fist in the air. He adjusted the flower crown on his head and gave Fatima a big smile. "I'm so excited! Thank you, Fatima!"_

* * *

Looking up at the Century Tree now, Sonic felt his heart sink. The longer he stayed on this island, the harder it was to keep himself from falling apart. So many memories kept rushing back, almost overwhelming him. And his friends were worried about him…

'_Just keep it together… Once Eggman's beaten, we'll go home. Once we're out of this hellhole, I can finally relax and I'll tell them everything,' _he thought to himself as he, Tails, and Uncle Chuck made it back to the air hangar.

Once there, he was greeted by Amy, who reported that their assigned areas were now protected by spell tags. Then Silver and Knuckles came up to him. Turns out that the two of them had their own personal encounters with the supernatural.

"Blaze and I were at the school and we saw this swing on the playground just swinging all by itself." Silver's eyes were wide as he recounted his tale. "Then, all of a sudden, it stopped. And then we felt this blast of cold air and some of our spell tags floated out of our hands. Then they started tying themselves around the doorknobs and the school's gate," he said in amazement.

"I guess there are a couple of good spirits around Christmas Island, too." Knuckles folded his arms across his chest. "Y'know, I was feeling really tense while I was out with Amy. A couple of times, I felt like throwing in the towel. Then I'd get this sudden surge of confidence, like someone was beside me, pushing me to keep going. I heard this really faint voice calling me "Soldier" and it really helped," he remarked.

Sonic smiled. _'Looks like we have a couple of allies among the wandering souls,' _he thought before hearing Omega's clunking footsteps.

Team Dark was the last to make it back to the hangar. To the rest of the group's worry, all three of them looked spooked. Heck, even Shadow looked a bit pale. And if Shadow was scared, it was a cause for alarm.

Shadow walked over to Sonic and handed him the blueprints. "There's something you all need to know," he said, his face grim.

* * *

Once Shadow and Rouge told them what transpired in Eggman's factory, the team, excluding Sonic and Uncle Chuck, were shocked.

"So Multo is the true mastermind behind all of this…" Blaze said quietly.

"And she's possessing Eggman?" Tails shuddered. "Y-yeesh… I don't even what to know what kind of mental torture she's putting him through…" he mumbled.

"Forget about Eggman for a second, guys. We need to know what her deal is," Knuckles said, looking at the blueprints. "Just giving us the key to shut down Eggman's entire factory… It's gotta be a trap," the echidna muttered.

"I agree with Knuckles. Multo's motives are unclear at this point." Silver shook his head. "And…" he trailed off, looking at the box Omega had set down in the middle of the room. "I have a bad feeling about that box," he mumbled.

"Multo ordered you guys to bring it here for Sonic to open?" Amy asked Omega.

"AFFIRMATIVE. SHE REFUSED TO LET ME OPEN IT," Omega replied, sounding a bit miffed.

Sonic stood at the far end of the room, remaining quiet as the team discussed their options. His eyes were fixed solely on the box. It was baffling, really. He had to admit that Multo had a sense of theatricality, posing as an ally and using Eggman as her puppet. But why?

Why go through all of this trouble?

And the box… why did Multo want _him _to open it?

The box looked unassuming enough. Plain wood, probably an old crate that used to hold parts for Eggman's Badniks. But what was inside that box that Multo wanted him to see?

"I don't like this." Uncle Chuck eyed the box. "You don't have to do this, Sonic," he told his nephew.

"Multo could have sent a few spies out to follow Team Dark. They could be in here with us right now, just waiting for us to not follow her orders and report back to her," Sonic argued, approaching the box.

"Everyone, just stay back. Silver, I want you to put up a force field. If anything jumps out of this box, keep it contained."

The time-traveling psychic nodded, the cyan symbols on his gloves already glowing. Amy, Blaze, Knuckles, Omega, Rouge, Shadow, Tails, and Uncle Chuck stepped back until they were at least six feet away from Sonic and the box. They watched with bated breath as the hero took one step forward and placed his hands on the lid. After a minute, they saw the lid of the box being opened just a crack. Then Sonic leaned forward and peered inside…

A split second passed.

Suddenly, Sonic slammed the lid of the box shut, startling everyone. He backpedaled fast, his back slamming into a wall.

"Sonic!" Uncle Chuck rushed to his nephew's side. Upon reaching him, Uncle Chuck saw that Sonic was trembling. The younger hedgehog's breath came out in short, quick gasps. His eyes were wide and staring at the box in what Uncle Chuck could only describe as horror.

"Sonic, Sonic… Sonny boy, come on. Talk to me," Uncle Chuck said, gently cradling his nephew's face in his hands.

"Box… has… They… Unk, they put… They… They…" Sonic babbled, going into a full-blown panic attack as his body trembled. He choked on a sob as his legs buckled underneath him, sending him sliding down until he was on the floor.

While Uncle Chuck tried to get his currently hyperventilating nephew to calm down, the rest of the team was unsure on what to do. Seeing Sonic, their confident friend, suddenly a babbling mess worried them greatly.

Finally, after a minute of standing around, Knuckles, Silver, and Tails slowly approached the box. Silver and Tails looked to Knuckles and nodded. The echidna would be the one to open it. If anything jumped out, they would force it back inside then get rid of the box as quickly as possible.

Taking a deep breath, Knuckles flung the box open… then screamed.

"What the hell?! WHAT THE HELL?!"

Tails backed away, his eyes wide and twin tails standing straight up. Silver's breath caught in his throat as a choked mix of a scream and a sob tore out of his mouth, as he stumbled back in shock.

Amy, Blaze, and Rouge took a few steps closer to get a better look. One look inside the box had them gasping and holding each other's hands tightly. Omega let Amy cling to his arm, the pink hedgehog whimpering. Blaze tried to comfort her, but even she was shaking, her fur puffing out.

"What kind of sick… twisted…?" Rouge choked out before burying her face in her hands, shuddering.

Shadow slowly walked towards the box while Knuckles and Silver backed away. When he finally saw what was inside, he swore that his heart stopped beating for a few seconds.

One of the blackened skulls inside the box seemed to grin at the Ultimate Lifeform.

There were three skulls in total, plus a couple more bones – all charred black. Looking at them all, Shadow recognized the skeletal structure based on the Mobian Biology textbooks he had read on the ARK. All of the bones belonged to hedgehogs.

'_What the hell is this? Why would Multo want Sonic to have these…?' _Shadow thought, sick to his stomach, looking at the blue hedgehog huddled in the corner of the hangar. He didn't notice Uncle Chuck make his way over to the box. The sound of the lid slamming shut for a second time made Shadow jump.

Uncle Chuck's hands shook as he took them off the top of the box. Taking shaky breaths, the elder hedgehog went back to Sonic. "Sonic…" he murmured, kneeling in front of his nephew and wrapping his arms around him.

Sonic whimpered, burying his face in his uncle's neck. He couldn't get the image out of his head. Of all those bones just lying in that box from Eggman's factory like they were nothing but trash Eggman had decided to throw away.

Then, in a single moment, Sonic figured it out.

Uncle Chuck felt Sonic gently patting him on the arm. Releasing his nephew, he saw Sonic bow his head and furiously rub his eyes. When Sonic looked up, his entire face was twisted in rage.

"Tails…" Sonic spoke. He clenched his fists. "Bring up the location of Eggman's factory on the Miles Electric," he ordered, his tone surprisingly calm.

Tails did as he was told. The map of Christmas Island showed up on the screen, a red Eggman logo marking the factory's location. For a long minute, Sonic stared at the map. His eyes narrowed and he gritted his teeth.

He recognized that spot.

"They let him build on that site…" Sonic growled, his entire body shaking.

"S-Sonic…?" Amy stuttered, not used to seeing the blue hedgehog in such an enraged state.

Beside Sonic, Uncle Chuck looked at the map and went rigid.

"They let Eggman build on that site… They let him dig up their remains…" Sonic said in a low voice.

To everyone's shock, Sonic's bright cobalt fur suddenly darkened for a few seconds before returning to its natural color.

"Big Blue, are you okay?" Rouge asked worriedly, taking a step towards Sonic.

Before anyone else could react, Sonic ran out of the air hangar.

"Sonic, wait!" Tails cried out, chasing after his brother.

"We better go, too. I think he's starting to lose it," Knuckles told the rest of the team, who followed him out of the air hangar.

Shadow ran alongside Uncle Chuck, the elderly hedgehog muttering under his breath.

"I can't believe it… The nerve of those bastards…"

Uncle Chuck's muttered swears only stoked Shadow's curiosity over the bones along with his growing worry for Sonic's mental stability. He and Rouge had kept a close eye on Sonic and his mood swings ever since arriving at Christmas Island. Now it looked like his rage was getting ready to erupt.

And, while he would never admit it to anyone, especially to a certain blue hedgehog, Shadow was afraid to know what happened when Sonic decided to unleash his anger.

* * *

His hands felt like they were burning again. For a split second, he felt the intense pain, smelt the putrid stench of smoke and burning flesh.

_He tried to dig her out of the burning rubble. The fur on his hands caught fire and sizzled. He screamed and screamed. Tears splashed onto his burning hands. He kept pawing through the wood and stone, screaming her name over and over again._

_But he knew it was hopeless. She wouldn't answer his cries._

_She was dead._

_Dead, dead, dead, dead, dead._

_That one word kept repeating in his mind like a broken record. But he kept digging, despite the fact that his hands were slowly being torched._

_He had to at least try and save her body. He wasn't going to leave her there to burn…_

* * *

Sonic burst into the Village Hall, startling everyone. Looking around, he saw that most of Christmas Island's villagers were assembled in the lobby. It was probably a late-night meeting to discuss the current situation.

Good. He had some choice words he wanted to give them.

Starting with Ashley.

Ignoring everyone's protests and greetings, Sonic shoved his way to the very front where Ashley was standing. "Why _there_?! Why did you let him build it _there_?!" he snarled at the lioness. Before Ashley could respond, Sonic stomped over to her. "You know what's there! You know that's where she was buried! Why did you let him build there?!"

"Sonic, please, stop yelling. There's a perfectly reasonable…" Karla managed to say but flinched when Sonic glared at her. The blue hedgehog looked like he was ready to punch someone and he didn't care who it would be.

Ashley let out a soft whimper as Sonic jabbed a finger at her. "Answer me, Ashley! Answer me!" he yelled.

Unable to bear the shame, Ashley turned away. And that was all it took for Sonic to finally understand. Looking at the villagers, he could see it. The guilt on the adult's faces was plain as day.

And, yet, they weren't brave enough to confess their sins.

"Cowards, you covered it up…" Shaking his head, Sonic faced the people who had made his childhood a living hell. "Your own children don't know what you did, pretending that you're all innocent little victims in all this," he muttered, making the children look at their parents with wide eyes.

What was Sonic talking about?

Looking down at the floor, Sonic stared at his hands then clenched them into tight fists as the itching sensation returned. "Why am I even here, helping you bastards out after what you did…?" he muttered to himself.

Tails and the rest of his friends suddenly rushed inside. "Sonic!" Tails gasped out just as Sonic raised his voice.

"You all stood by as he disturbed her grave! She was buried there and you let Eggman build his factory there anyway! I've always hated this place, hated you… not just for what you did to me, but for what you did to her. And the fact that, even now, you won't own up to your mistakes makes me sick! You're all spineless cowards, scum who aren't worth a fraction of what she was!" Sonic screamed at the villagers.

While the adults could only avoid the bewildered gazes of their children, Sonic's friends were stunned. They had never seen Sonic so angry before…

'_Oh, Sonic…' _A single tear slipped down Uncle Chuck's cheek. But before he could move to get to his nephew, Uncle Chuck was forced to step aside as Sonic took off.

As Sonic passed by his uncle and his friends, a single tear slid down his face. He ignored his friends' shouts for him to come back. His feet pounded against the earth as he ran. _'I hate them! I hate them and I'll never forgive them!' _he thought as he ran towards Eggman's factory.

At the sight of the factory, Sonic felt his blood boil. Eggman… he'd hurt so many people, had tried to kill him and his friends hundreds of times.

But, this? This was the last straw.

'_He disturbed their grave. Threw away their bones like they were trash. That fucking egg-shaped bastard…'_

With a growl, Sonic sped up, his bright blue fur turning dark.

He would show no mercy this time.

* * *

"Um… Ms. Multo…" Cubot gulped as he and Orbot watched the security camera footage from the factory's front gate.

Multo, still possessing Dr. Eggman, paused from conversing with some of the dark spirits around her. Walking to the master control panel, she saw a dark blue streak bust through the iron gates.

"_**So he's finally here. Perfect," **_Multo purred. The dark spirits around her whined but she reassured them, _**"It's okay, everyone. But, now, time is of the essence. Evacuate now. I'll call you guys when the time is right."**_

Turning to Orbot and Cubot, Multo's gaze softened. _**"You two are free to go," **_she told them.

"But…" Orbot looked at his possessed creator. "What about Dr. Eggman?" he asked.

"_**Oh, don't worry about him. Besides, don't you and Cubot think that it might be time for you two to have a little freedom?" **_Multo cocked the Doctor's head at them.

The two robots looked at each other, unsure. Suddenly, some of Multo's ghost henchmen appeared and herded them out of the room.

"_**Good. Those two are nice robots. They don't deserve their master's fate," **_Multo murmured to herself before severing her link to the Doctor. She flew out of Eggman's chest, the villain collapsing to his knees, and waited, with a devious smile on her face, for him to get his bearings.

Dr. Eggman staggered to his feet. Upon seeing Multo, he let out a loud unmanly scream and backed away. "Get away from me, y-y-you twisted monster!" he stammered.

Multo smiled. _**"Don't worry, Doctor. I won't bother you anymore. It was nice knowing you. Bye~" **_she said, wiggling her fingers. Then, with a puff of smoke, she vanished.

For a minute, Eggman gaped at the spot where Multo was just seconds ago. Then the blaring of alarms brought him out of his stupor. Rushing to the master control, he saw a familiar hedgehog tearing through the factory.

"Oh no…" Dr. Eggman paled upon seeing how Sonic was utterly thrashing the East wing of his factory. Even worse, none of the Ghost Badniks seemed to be coming to intercept the infernal blue hedgehog.

Desperate, Eggman sent out the few non-Ghost-powered robots he had. "Okay, time to go…" he muttered, making for the door. To his horror, the door refused to open. He went back to his master control panel and tried to override the system only to have access denied.

"That rotten ghost!" Eggman cursed under his breath then gulped as he watched the live footage of his entire factory – and his plans – go up in smoke.

* * *

Sonic felt like he was burning. Every nerve in his body was on fire, tingling with Dark Chaos Energy.

And he loved it.

He tore through the factory's East wing as if the buildings were made of paper. He relished the feeling of his spines cutting through stone and steel as he did spin dash after spin dash. Once the East wing was demolished, he went for the generator chambers.

Buzz Bombers, Egg Pawns, and Moto Bugs were waiting for him. He let out a bitter laugh. _'So Egghead thinks these pathetic scrap heaps can stop me?' _he thought before rushing towards the robots. He obliterated each one, leaving piles of shredded metal in his wake.

The generators were easy to take down. All he needed was to launch a Homing Attack on each one, and they burst into flames.

The smell of smoke triggered another memory – the memory of that night – and Sonic let it fill him with rage. He tore down the factory walls, smashed through the ceilings, and raced towards the other weak spots. Every Eggman robot, he savagely destroyed. Rage fueled him as he kept going on his rampage until almost every part of Eggman's factory was in ruins.

He would avenge them.

Lola Elena, with her unique brand of wisdom and deep respect for the old ways combined with an openness towards the new.

Rosario, the closest thing he ever had to a mother figure, so gentle and loving.

Fatima, his angel… his one ray of sunshine on Christmas Island.

He would make Eggman pay.

With a roar, Sonic smashed his way through one more generator. He didn't look back as the entire thing burst into flames. All that's left now was the main control room.

The reinforced steel doors were no match for Sonic in his Dark Super Form. Gripping the edges, Sonic pried them open.

"EGGMAN!"

The Doctor tried to hide behind his desk. He whimpered as his desk was flung to the wall, where it smashed into pieces. Whimpering, Eggman looked up to see Sonic looming over him. The hero's blank white eyes seemed to drill into his. And his Chaos Energy was off the charts, a heavy feeling settling around the Doctor.

"S-Sonic, I-I-I swear… I-It w-wasn't me! It was…!" Dr. Eggman managed to say before Sonic roughly grabbed him by the throat.

"You dare desecrate this place and say such things?" Sonic growled, his teeth bared.

Eggman choked and spluttered, desperately trying to free himself from the hedgehog's iron grip. Then Sonic brought the Doctor's face closer to his and, in a venomous tone, whispered, "You've crossed the line, Eggman. Today… you _die_."

* * *

"Dear Lord Chaos…" Knuckles breathed out as he and the rest of the gang arrived at Eggman's factory.

Or… what was left of it.

Entire buildings had been reduced to piles of rubble. Broken glass littered the ground along with the shredded remains of Eggman's robots. The main building housing all of the factory's generators was in flames, sending columns of black smoke up into the sky.

"Oh my God…" Rouge whispered, her wings going limp.

Amy, Tails, Blaze, Silver, and Uncle Chuck could only stare at all of the destruction in silent horror.

Even Omega, who prided himself on being able to annihilate almost anything, was speechless.

Shadow could hardly believe his eyes.

All of this destruction… this violence…

_Sonic _had done this…?

Suddenly, a scream came from the factory's main entrance. The group rushed over only to back away as Sonic emerged, dragging Dr. Eggman behind him by his mustache.

"S-Sonic, p-please! I-I'm begging you! _Have mercy!_" the Doctor begged as his nemesis flung him onto the ground.

"Mercy?" Sonic laughed, a chilling sound. "After everything you've done, you still expect me to give you _mercy_?" he asked, planting a foot on the Doctor's chest.

"Sonic, stop!" Uncle Chuck yelled as he saw his nephew charge up a Chaos Spear in his hands.

Sonic raised his arms, his Dark Chaos Spear crackling with power, his teeth bared at Dr. Eggman. "_THIS _IS MY MERCY!" he roared and started to throw the Chaos Spear down, aiming for the Doctor's head…

Suddenly, a cyan glow surrounded Sonic, stopping him in his tracks.

"Sonic, calm down…" Silver said slowly, floating over to the speedster and moving him away from Eggman. The evil scientist scrambled to hide behind Shadow, whimpering pathetically.

Sonic growled at Silver. "Let me at him! That fucking bastard dies today!" he yelled, struggling against the ivory-furred hedgehog's psychic grip.

"You're not a killer, Sonic! This isn't you!" Tails ran to his big brother, eyes filled with tears. "Please, big bro… Please, stop. You're scaring me… You're scaring all of us…" he pleaded.

Sonic stared at Tails for a long minute. The Chaos Spear in his hands dissipated into faint swirls of Dark Chaos Energy.

Shadow joined Silver as the latter slowly put Sonic down. He approached Sonic, who remained silent. "What is going on here, Sonic? You've been acting up since we got here. What is it about Christmas Island that's making you so angry?" the Ultimate Lifeform asked.

Sonic looked over Shadow's shoulder. "Hmph… why don't you ask _them_?" he asked, pointing at something behind Shadow and the rest of his friends.

Turning around, Shadow saw that the villagers had arrived and they were all staring at Sonic and the destruction around him in terror.

"Go on. Tell them." Sonic's body burned with an intense navy blue aura. His once cobalt fur was now a dark shade of blue bordering on black. "Tell them what you all did!" he yelled at the villagers, his tone harsh and grating.

The children whimpered, startled to see such an enraged side of the hero, and took refuge behind Amy, Blaze, and Rouge.

Shadow felt a chill run up his spine. He reached out to Sonic, hoping to calm down the speedster but froze when Sonic looked at him. Sonic glared at him, his eyes devoid of their pupils and irises. He felt as if he were looking into Multo's eyes – eyes filled with so much anger and hatred.

Swallowing, Shadow asked, "Sonic… what did they do?"

In response, Sonic turned away from him and pointed to the smoking remains of Eggman's factory. "There used to be a house there. The family who lived in it were good people. They were the only ones who treated me and Uncle Chuck with kindness while we lived here. Lola Elena… Her daughter, Rosario… and… _Fatima_…" He clenched his fist. "She was the only friend I had on this island, the only one who never saw me as a freak…" Sonic whispered before turning on the villagers, his eyes narrowed in hate.

"And you monsters killed her."

* * *

**This was, by far, the toughest chapter to write. Mostly because I had to really think about what Sonic would do if he really lost his temper and how he would act and speak.**

**But I'm glad I finally got this chapter written. Next chapter, we finally discover what happened on that night all those years ago on Christmas Island that ultimately drove Sonic and Uncle Chuck away.**

**Another thing to look forward to in the next chapter… is the reveal of Multo's true identity.**

**In the meantime, please don't hesitate to leave a review! It would mean a lot.**

**-GuardianDragon98**


	11. Chapter 11

**Sorry for the long wait. This was an intensely emotional chapter to write. Enjoy the angst, guys!**

**NOTE: I DO NOT OWN ANY OF THE SONIC CHARACTERS!**

* * *

**Chapter 11**

For a moment, the only sound that could be heard was the crackle of the flames. A light breeze blew, sending the scent of smoke and burning gasoline into the air.

Shadow couldn't move. Sonic's words left him unable to. He felt the breath leave his lungs the moment the blue hedgehog turned to the villagers of Christmas Island and uttered those words.

"_And you monsters killed her."_

Looking at the others, Shadow could tell they were also reeling from that revelation as they stared at the Mobians gathered before them.

Amy had her hands covering her mouth. Blaze was completely still, her golden eyes wide. Rouge took a step backwards, her wings folded tightly against her back. Behind them, the children were staring at their parents, mouths agape.

Knuckles clenched his fists, gritting his teeth. Silver's mouth was hanging open, his eyes looking ready to pop out of their sockets. Tails merely stared at the villagers, his namesakes lying limp on the ground.

Omega raised his arms, his metal fingers balling into fists. Shadow shook his head at him then looked to Uncle Chuck.

The elder hedgehog's eyes weren't focused on the villagers. Rather, they were fixed on Sonic who was still in his Dark Form. There were tears in Uncle Chuck's blue eyes. And that was enough to confirm to Shadow that Sonic had spoken the truth.

'_A family of three… murdered by an entire village. But how…? WHY?' _Shadow thought before he heard Sonic speak again.

"You people are always looking down on those who are different. Treating them like trash. Don't think that I haven't forgotten how you all made my life here a living hell. Me and Uncle Chuck, we weren't doing anything wrong and you guys _still _ridiculed us, threatened us, made us feel like we didn't belong here. And, then, just when I finally found a reason to stay on this hellhole…" Sonic shut his eyes for a second. When he opened them, his dark green irises were now visible. Shadow saw that the hero's eyes were glossy, tears pricking at their corners.

"I just wanted a friend!" Sonic roared. A wave of Dark Chaos Energy pulsed out of him, sending bits of debris from the factory flying. "All I wanted was a friend and you people took her from me!"

"But we…" An adult bear stepped forward, his wife clinging to his arm. It was Arthur, now released from the hospital. Swallowing the lump in his throat, he shouted, "Sonic, we didn't start the fire!"

Sonic narrowed his eyes at him. "No… you didn't," he admitted, balling his fists. "But you all did something worse…" he whispered.

Another wave of Dark Chaos Energy burst out of Sonic as the hero stomped his foot on the ground. "You all stood there and just watched! You let your parents set Fatima's house on fire and did nothing!" Sonic screamed at them.

Amy looked at all of the adults, her eyes welling up with tears. "W-why? Why did you do that?" she asked them, trembling all over.

"Because they were afraid," Sonic said coldly, looking away. "One thing hasn't changed about this island. And it's that everyone here is afraid of anyone who's different."

Looking at the flames that consumed the remainder of Eggman's factory, Sonic clenched his fists. "You bastards even had the gall to cheer as they burned…" he whispered.

* * *

"_Yeah! Burn it down! Burn it down!"_

"_Kill the witches! Kill the witches!"_

_Sonic jumped out of the Tornado just as his Uncle Chuck got its front wheels to touch the ground. He elbowed his way past the throng until he was just a few feet away from the burning house. His entire body shook as he gazed at the flames that were slowly eating away at the walls and roof of the house._

_And everyone just stood there, watching and cheering as if it was a celebration. It was sickening._

"_FATIMA!" Sonic screamed, running towards the blaze without a second thought. He ignored his Uncle Chuck's panicked cries as he did a spin dash and broke through the front door. _

"_Fatima! Lola Elena! Mama Rosario!" he yelled as he ran. _

'_Please don't be dead. Please, Lord Chaos, dear God, please let me save them…' he prayed as he searched through the house._

"_HELP!"_

_That voice… Fatima!_

"_Fatima!" Sonic screamed, choking on the hot ash and smoke, running towards the sound of his best friend's voice._

"_SONIC! SONIC, HELP!"_

"_I'm coming, Fatima!" he yelled. The flames were rushing towards him. Pumping his legs desperately, Sonic ran until he felt like his lungs were about to burst._

"_SONIC!"_

_Finally, he spotted Fatima standing in the middle of the living room and surrounded by fire. She was trembling like a leaf, her body covered in ash and her fur slightly singed. But when she saw him, she managed to smile a little even as the tears flowed down her cheeks._

_But the smile was quickly replaced with a look of fear as, with a creak and groan, the roof caved in._

_She reached out to him, one arm outstretched, begging him to save her. She managed to scream his name one last time before being buried by tons of burning wood and stone._

_No… No… No…_

"_FATIMA!" Sonic screamed, running towards the pile of rubble. His hands dug through the wood and stone as he screamed her name over and over again. Tears blurred his vision as he kept going. His hands caught on fire but he didn't care._

'_Not fast enough… Wasn't fast enough… Couldn't save her… Couldn't save her… Dead… She's dead. Fatima's dead. Mama Rosario's dead. Lola Elena's dead. They're dead. Dead and I couldn't save them. Wasn't fast enough. Wasn't fast enough. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry…' he thought as he screamed. Screamed as he tried to dig his best friend's body out of the rubble. Screamed from the pain as his hands burned. Screamed until his throat was hoarse._

_Suddenly, he felt a strong pair of arms wrap around his waist. "No!" he shrieked, fighting against the stranger's iron grip._

"_Sonny boy! No! Sonic, we have to GO!" _

_Uncle Chuck let out a strangled sob as he pulled his nephew away from the pile. More parts of the roof were starting to fall. It wouldn't be long until the house completely collapsed._

"_No! Fatima! Fatima! FATIMA!" Sonic wailed, thrashing against his Uncle's grip as he was carried away. When he saw the flames leap up to consume the pile of rubble, he knew that it was too late._

_His angel was gone._

* * *

Looking at his gloved hands, Sonic took a shuddering breath. He could take the teasing, the dirty looks, and the occasional beating. But what the villagers of Christmas Island did all those years ago… he could never forgive them for that.

And he never will.

"My work here is done. Eggman's been captured and his factory is destroyed. I want to go home, _now_," Sonic said flatly.

"But Sonic… M-Multo's still out there. Shouldn't we stop her from haunting the island?" Tails asked him, approaching his big brother apprehensively.

Sonic faced him and scowled. "I'm done with this place, Tails. I want to leave. If Multo wants to haunt them, punish them for their sins, I say let her do as she pleases." Looking at the villagers, who were all cowering in fear, he snarled, _"They deserve it."_

No sooner had Sonic said this, high-pitched laughter filled the air.

The kids screamed as black fireballs exploded into existence around everyone.

"_**Ah, finally. Someone who gets me."**_

Eggman whimpered, clinging to Shadow's legs. Shadow growled, kicking him away, while the rest of the team got into fighting stances. Luckily for them, the spirit tags they were wearing kept the spirits well away.

Sonic looked up and saw another black fireball, bigger than the rest, appear in the sky. He yelped as he was suddenly levitated off the ground. He looked frantically to Silver, the ivory hedgehog using his telekinesis to pull him back down.

The black fireball floated down, hovering between Sonic and Silver. A head formed from the dark flames, followed by a torso, arms, and legs. Multo scoffed and waved her hand, sending Silver flying backwards.

"Silver!" Blaze rushed to her friend, only to be blocked by three of Multo's lackeys.

Multo floated over to Sonic who merely gave her a cold look.

"_**It's so nice to finally see you, Sonic," **_Multo greeted him. She hummed as she inspected the runner's Dark Form. _**"Ooh, I always did like your blue fur. But black also suits you," **_she giggled.

Sonic flailed around, trying to put some distance between him and Multo. But the ghost merely smiled and took his hands in hers. Sonic stopped struggling. Multo's touch was surprisingly gentle. And her hands weren't as hot as he originally thought.

Multo hummed as Sonic calmed down and looked into her eyes. _**"I feel your pain, Sonic. Those people…" **_she hissed, glaring at the villagers. _**"They've looked down on you, ridiculed you, **__**hurt**__** you for so long. They are the real monsters," **_she told him.

"They're the real monsters…" Sonic mumbled, also looking at the villagers as they cowered before Multo's legion of dark spirits. His navy blue aura burned brighter and his green irises vanished. "They killed my best friend…" he muttered, tears sliding down his face.

Multo lifted her right hand, gently brushing the tears away. _**"That's right. What they did was unforgivable. And they deserve to be punished," **_she agreed with him.

"They deserve to be punished…" Sonic slowly nodded.

"Sonic, whatever she's telling you, don't listen!" Uncle Chuck yelled, pushing Tails and the village kids behind him.

"He's right, Sonic! Don't fall for her tricks!" Amy shouted, taking out her Piko Piko Hammer as the dark spirits closed in on her and the team.

Knuckles growled and took off in a run then jumped. He had to knock Multo right out of the sky before she possessed Sonic!

Multo looked behind her shoulder to see the echidna gliding towards her, fists raised, and sighed. Three black fireballs shot up to meet her. _**"Restrain him. But don't possess him," **_she instructed her minions.

With gleeful giggles, the three fireballs morphed into the flame-cloaked forms of a Mobian dog, scorpion, and monkey. They surrounded Knuckles and wrapped their arms around him. Knuckles yelled and thrashed in their grip as he was brought back down to the ground.

"You're not hurting my friends?" Sonic titled his head at Multo.

"_**I would never do anything to upset **_**you**_**, Sonic." **_Multo said, the corners of her eyes crinkling with amusement. _**"As I was saying, don't you think it's time the people of Christmas Island got what they deserved? Together, we can punish them. Hurt them… like **_**they **_**hurt **_**us**_**," **_she offered, holding Sonic's hands and giving them a gentle squeeze.

"_**It'll be just like old times. You and me against the world. What do you say, Blue Streak?"**_

Sonic gasped and blinked, his eyes going back to their normal state. His Dark Chaos Energy weakened. _'Blue Streak… Only one person ever called me that. It can't be…' _his already frazzled mind said to him as he stared at Multo. He could smell smoke emanating from her… along with a faint floral perfume. His nose twitched, trying to figure out the flowery scent until it hit him.

_Jasmine_. Like the garlands of jasmine flowers Fatima used to wear around her neck.

"F-_Fatima_?" Sonic's mouth felt dry. "Fatima, is that you?" he whispered, gazing into Multo's all-white eyes.

Multo immediately let go of Sonic's hands. Her eyes narrowed as she floated an inch away from him. _**"…I don't go by that name anymore, Blue Streak," **_she told him, looking away.

Sonic put a hand to his head. All of his rage disappeared, replaced with a heavy sense of dread. He heard crying and looked down. All of the village kids were in tears as they clung his friends, who were all keeping an eye on the dark spirits gathered around them. Just a few feet away, the adults were huddled together in a terrified mass. Eggman was still trembling as he tried to hide.

Looking at Multo… No, _Fatima_, Sonic mentally kicked himself for allowing his anger to take control of him. He wished he could take back what he'd said earlier. The kids didn't deserve punishment for what their parents did… and their parents didn't deserve this kind of torment.

"This… This is wrong." Sonic gestured to the frightened masses below him and Multo. "Terrorizing everyone… th-this isn't right! I was stupid to think that all of this is right! And you know it, too, Fatima! You would never do anything this awful!" he exclaimed.

"_**I gave them a chance!" **_Multo's flames leaped up, making her look bigger. _**"I let those monsters bully me and I forgave them so many times! I should have taught them a lesson while I was still alive, but no! I was stupid and naïve to think that they would change!" **_she shouted.

The dark spirits swirled around the villagers, their malicious laughter filling the air.

Glaring, Multo looked at Sonic and saw that the hedgehog's dark fur was now back to its cobalt color. And he was shaking. _**"I now have a chance to make them pay for what they did to me and to my family, Blue Streak. Don't tell me you've decided to forgive them… after everything they did to us," **_she said in a low voice.

Sonic slowly shook his head, his eyes wide with horror. He didn't want to believe it, but the truth was floating right in front of him.

He couldn't recognize Fatima anymore. It was Multo in front of him now. Not his sweet angel.

"You're-You're not her…" Sonic whispered.

Multo's glare vanished and her expression went from angry to hurt. _**"What…?" **_she asked, her voice suddenly soft and timid.

Sonic held his right hand out in front of him, his spell tag visible. "Y-You hurt people… She would never… _Fatima, this isn't you_," he said, his voice wavering.

Multo suddenly started trembling. The flames engulfing her body twisted around her as she shut her eyes, whimpering. _**"So-So that's it, huh? You're siding with them?" **_she asked, and it broke Sonic's heart to hear the tremble in her voice.

"No. Fatima, I'm not siding with anyone. I just…" Sonic reached out to the ghost only for his hand to be swatted away. His eyes widened as he saw his spell tag clutched in Multo's dark hand.

Pitch black holes with blood-red irises bore into Sonic's soul as the blue hedgehog's spell tag burst into flames in Multo's hand. _**"Fine… I'll punish everyone by myself," **_she whispered and threw her left hand down, sending Sonic crashing back down to Earth.

The dark spirits cackled and swooped at the villagers. Some chased them. Some dive-bombed them, leaving scorch marks and burns. Other dark spirits possessed Ashley and her friends, their screams of agony music to the ghosts' ears.

"All right! That's it!" Knuckles yelled, freeing one of his arms and swinging his fist at one of the ghosts restraining him while Rouge swung her leg at another. The ghost dog and ghost scorpion shrieked and backed off, hissing at the sight of the spell tags wrapped around the duo's wrists.

"Sonic!" Tails flew over to his big brother. Groaning, Sonic sat up. He saw Ashley fall to the ground and scream, along with Arthur, Hughie, Jayden, and Lloyd.

"No… No…" he whispered before feeling a chill behind him.

Tails glared as Multo appeared behind Sonic. "Leave my brother alone!" he yelled, charging towards her.

Multo grinned sadistically. _**"Come and get me then, little fox!" **_she taunted.

Sonic's eyes widened. "Tails, no!" he warned his little brother.

Too late.

Tails yelled as his fist went right through Multo's transparent form. He looked up and saw Multo smile, her sharp white teeth showing, before going rigid.

"_**Oh, you poor thing. You've been called a freak, too…"**_

Tails' eyes glazed over as memories came rushing back.

Living all by himself in the woods, his parents nowhere to be found.

The local kids making fun of him for his two tails.

Adults banning him from their shops due to him being a freak.

Being completely helpless as the kids destroyed the gadgets he'd worked so hard on.

Watching Sonic jump into danger, seeing him get blasted off Space Colony ARK in that escape pod, the thought of never seeing his big brother again…

Tails couldn't stop the tears from welling up in his eyes as he was forced to relive them all.

Multo's voice took on a hard edge as she picked through the two-tailed fox kit's worst memories. _**"So Blue Streak took you in as his new best friend…" **_she muttered before severing her link to Tails and flying out of Sonic's reach.

"Buddy…" Sonic knelt beside Tails, the young fox whimpering and trying to stem the flow of his tears.

Around them, Amy, Blaze, Knuckles, Omega, Rouge, Shadow, Silver, and Uncle Chuck were fighting against Multo's army as best as they could. Their punches and kicks would go right through the ghosts.

Blaze unleashed flaming projectiles at a whole swarm of dark spirits, inwardly cursing herself as some of her flames landed on the ground and set it alight. _'I have to be careful not to set the whole area on fire…' _she thought before hearing an insidious voice in her ears.

"_**That's right, princess. Wouldn't want your curse to hurt anyone, would we?"**_

Blaze froze, her tail puffing up. She clutched her head in her hands as memories flew through her mind.

Being told by her parents to keep her pyrokinesis under control, isolating her from everybody in the palace…

Trying and failing to make friends when she was a kitten…

Setting her room on fire and nearly burning her mother and father when they tried to calm her down…

"_**You had to hide your true self away and become the perfect princess everyone expected you to be. In exchange, nobody would even dare try to be your friend because they were always afraid of you," **_Multo purred as she flew out of Blaze's body in fireball form. She then set her sights on Amy, the pink hedgehog unable to see her as she used the impact of her Piko Piko Hammer on the ground to disorient the ghosts.

"Amy, look out!" Sonic yelled as he tried to take Tails out of the battlefield. He rushed to protect Amy next, but Multo lashed out with a blast of black fire before she entered Amy.

"_**You try so hard to make Sonic fall in love with you. Silly girl. As if you'll ever be able to keep up with him." **_

Amy screamed as Multo picked through her brain, pulling out all her painful memories for her to relive.

Her kidnapping at the hands of Metal Sonic, all those times Sonic left her to fight Eggman and left her worrying about him, every single time Sonic ran away from her. It made her cry and it made Multo laugh.

"Get out of my friend, you wicked ghost!" Silver yelled, his hands glowing with psychic energy. But no sooner had he rushed to Amy's side, Multo targeted him next.

He saw himself wandering his home in the future, all alone, unable to do anything to stop Iblis. He saw Mephiles tricking him into almost killing Sonic…

The guilt weighing down on him, Silver slumped forward onto his knees.

"_**It's no use trying to forget all of that by being Sonic's friend. You tried to kill him and that'll always be on your conscience for the rest of your life," **_Multo spat as she moved on to her next couple of victims.

No matter how fast he ran to warn his friends, Sonic couldn't outpace Multo. The ghost hedgehog was too fast, darting in and out of his friends' bodies after briefly possessing them and forcing them to relive their worst memories.

Multo giggled as she managed to ensnare both Knuckles and Rouge in her trap. _**"One a lonely guardian. The other a thief no one can ever truly trust," **_she mused.

"No! No! Get out of my head!" Knuckles growled as he remembered. He saw his mother's face, nothing more than a blurry image, peering down at him before she left him at the steps of the Master Emerald's shrine. He never saw her again. Then he saw the Master Emerald being shattered into pieces, Chaos emerging from it and going on a rampage…

Rouge nearly fell out of the sky as her mind was overcome with memories of her mother neglecting her, of her time living on the streets after she'd run away, and of G.U.N. privately threatening her and her teammates if they didn't cooperate.

"_**Clearly, you all have a lot of issues," **_Multo remarked as she darted from one victim to the next, reveling in the sorrow she caused.

"This is not your place… It is time for you to move on…" Shadow muttered as he backed away from the spirits. He flung Chaos Spears at any ghost that came too close but was relying on his spell tag to keep them at bay.

Uncle Chuck dropped to his knees, his eyes squeezed shut, as Multo briefly possessed him. For a moment, he could feel his joints stiffening as if they were being encased in metal again. His roboticization, which left Sonic and Tails without him as they grew up, had never been an easy memory to recall.

"Fatima, please… Stop it. Wh-what would your mother and grandmother say if they saw you now?" he murmured as Multo emerged from his chest.

"_**They're gone, Uncle Chuck." **_Multo sighed and closed her eyes. _**"I waited, you know. For so long… but you and Blue Streak never came back…" **_she whispered.

Sonic balled his hands into fists. Desperate, he launched himself at Fatima only to choke as she levitated him off the ground. Multo snarled, her right hand thrust out and squeezing at thin air. Sonic gasped as he felt his throat close up. "F-F-Fatima… No… Please…" he wheezed, reaching out to the ghost.

Seeing Sonic in trouble, Shadow forgot his own needs at self-preservation. Teleporting so he was standing right behind Multo, he charged up a Chaos Spear and fired it at Multo's stomach!

"_**Aaaaggghhh!" **_Multo shrieked, dropping Sonic. Whirling around, she found Shadow charging up another Chaos Spear.

"You think just because you were wronged in the past that it gives you the right to be judge, jury, and executioner? And you call yourself Sonic's best friend when you just attacked him? What kind of best friend does that?" Shadow snarled at her.

Multo growled at him. Then, she smiled evilly at him. _**"Ooh, I can sense so much pain coming from you… I wonder what kind of traumas you're bottling up inside that soul of yours…" **_she said slyly.

"No!" Forcing himself onto his knees, Sonic looked at Shadow fearfully. "Shads, get out of here!" he yelled.

At Sonic's yell, Shadow took his eyes off Multo for a split second. And that gave her the opportunity to strike.

Shadow gasped as Multo's fireball form rocketed into his chest. His eyes rolled up into the back of his head and he collapsed onto the ground. "No… No… Not again…" he muttered.

He was back on the ARK. Maria's shaky breaths following him as he pulled her along. His legs burned as he ran down the halls. Behind him were the sounds of gunfire and shouting.

"_**You did everything you could…" **_Multo whispered in his mind. _**"But, in the end, you couldn't save her…" **_

Shadow writhed on the ground, tears welling up in his eyes. Distantly, he could hear Sonic shouting his name.

He was trapped in the escape pod again. He screamed as he banged on the tempered glass. Outside, not far from him, Maria struggled to pull down on the lever that would eject the escape pod from the ARK.

Then the soldiers managed to blast the door open.

"Shadow… I beg of you… For all the people who live on that planet… give them a chance to be happy…" Maria looked at him, her blue eyes still alive with hope.

One of the soldiers raised his gun…

"Bring hope to humanity!"

_BANG!_

"MARIA!" Shadow screamed, Multo's laughter echoing in his skull, along with Maria's final words.

"_Sayonara, Shadow the Hedgehog…"_

Sonic felt his eyes burn as the tears flowed down his cheeks, dropping onto Shadow's face. The black hedgehog was weeping, his body twitching as Multo continued to torment him. "Please… Please, stop this. My friends don't deserve this…" he whispered. Shutting his eyes, Sonic yelled, "It's me you want, isn't it?! Punish me instead! I deserve it more, Fatima! Don't hurt them! Hurt _me_!"

Shadow gasped as he shot up into a sitting position, his eyes still filled with tears. Above him, Multo materialized and glowered at Sonic. The blue hedgehog looked up at her, his green eyes pleading.

"_**Really? You'd rather stick up for these guys than me? Your best friend?" **_Multo accused, her hands clenched into fists.

Before Sonic could reply, Multo shot herself into his chest. Sonic whimpered as every bad memory came flooding back to him. With every memory of each bruise, each beating, and each cruel word sent his way came Multo's accusations.

"_**You were my hero! You promised that you would always protect me! Where were you when I needed you, Blue Streak?!"**_

"I tried to save you… You know I did…" Sonic whispered, clutching his chest as he knelt on the ground.

"_**But you failed! And you know what hurt even more?! You didn't come back! You and Uncle Chuck just left me and Mama and Lola to rot! I waited for you, Sonic! I waited for you to come back and give us the proper rites but you never returned! I waited for you in limbo for years! I waited… but you didn't come back…" **_Multo's voice cracked at the last part, her pain mingling with Sonic's.

Sonic sobbed. "I-I…" he whimpered before seeing Fatima's frightened face again, the last time he ever saw her before…

"_**You forgot about me and made new friends… It's like I never existed…" **_Multo whispered, her voice thick with tears.

"I never forgot you, my angel… I'm sorry… I'm so sorry…" Sonic cried, oblivious to Shadow frantically shaking him as he knelt on the ground, his head bowed.

"_**Sorry isn't going to be enough this time, Blue Streak."**_

Sonic felt himself sinking deeper into his despair. All the people he hadn't been able to save in the past appeared around him, their faces twisted in hate.

"_**You're no hero…"**_

"_**All you do is bring ruin and misery…"**_

"_**Freak… Abomination… Monster…"**_

"_**MonstermonstermonsterMONSTERMONSTERMONSTER!"**_

"I'm… not… a… monster…" Sonic gritted his teeth, bringing his palms together. His heart rebelled at what he was about to do. But his mind screeched at him that it was the only option he had left.

The strongest exorcism incantation Fatima and her family taught him…

"_Oh God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Ghost…" _

All of the ghosts suddenly froze and stared at Sonic.

"_Lord Chaos, you who bring life to this world…"_

"_**No…! No! Stop him!" **_Multo shrieked, coming out of Sonic's body and waving frantically at her army.

Sonic raised his head up, his eyes on the sky. _"In your glorious names, I ask thee to banish these evil souls! Bind them and hold them fast! Cast them into the depths of the underworld!"_

The dark spirits shrieked as silver tendrils of light suddenly burst from the ground and ensnared them, pulling them down into the ground where they disappeared into the darkness. Multo hissed as two tendrils wrapped around her ankles, turning into chains.

"_Let no evil trouble the living! Return them to the realm of Death!" _Sonic choked out as he looked into Multo's merlot eyes as more chains wrapped themselves around her.

"_**You think that little incantation's going to keep me down forever?!" **_Multo roared as the chains began to pull her down. _**"I'll come back, Sonic! And you'll be sorry!" **_

'_I'm sorry, Fatima…' _Sonic thought as he made the sign of the cross and whispered the last part of the incantation.

"_Away with you, dark spirit. Trouble the living no more. In the name of God and Chaos, depart from the mortal realm."_

"_**I HATE YOU!" **_Multo screamed as the chains dragged her into the darkness.

As soon as Multo had vanished, Sonic tipped forward onto his hands and knees. He let out a quiet sob, his hands digging into the soil, as his heart shattered into pieces.

He banished his best friend into the depths of the underworld… He _was _a monster…

A trembling hand on his shoulder made Sonic look up. Shadow was looking at him, eyes watery. The sheer worry etched into Shadow's face made his heart drop into his stomach. He didn't deserve it… He didn't deserve Shadow's concern or any of his friends'…

This was all his fault.

Pushing Shadow's hand away, Sonic staggered to his feet and bolted.

"S-Sonic, wait…" Shadow muttered, struggling to his feet. But the Blue Blur was long gone. Still wobbly from Multo's assault, Shadow took a step forward. He had to find Sonic. He had to know just what the hell was going on…

A hand on his shoulder made Shadow pause. Looking behind him, Shadow saw Uncle Chuck supporting a trembling Tails.

"Leave him be for a while, Shadow. We've got more pressing matters to attend to," the elder hedgehog told the Ultimate Lifeform, his blue eyes calm despite the intense pain hidden within their depths.

Rouge was still sobbing, clinging to a stone-faced Knuckles. The echidna's large hands were clenched into fists but that didn't stop them from shaking.

A whimpering Amy trembled as Silver helped her up. The psychic hedgehog's ears were pinned against his skull as he held onto Blaze's hand, the fire cat unable to look at anything except for the ground.

There was no denying it. Multo had utterly terrified them and beaten them.

"Omega, help me take them to the hangar," Uncle Chuck instructed the one member of the team that hadn't been subjected to Multo's torment. He then scowled at Eggman, who looked hopefully at him. "You're coming with us. And you better not hurt the young'uns or I'll throw you out," he warned the Doctor who gulped and nodded.

All of the villagers were coming out of their horror-induced daze. None of them looked at Uncle Chuck's group as they left, too afraid to even approach them.

Shadow kept silent as he and the gang followed Uncle Chuck back to the air hangar. Part of him wanted to go after Sonic and see if he was all right, but he stopped himself.

'_Sonic needs time alone. I have to respect that…' _Shadow thought then looked at Uncle Chuck, who was gently rubbing Tails' back in a comforting manner. The elder hedgehog looked over his shoulder, locked eyes with Shadow, and sighed.

"I'll tell you all everything when we get to the hangar," Uncle Chuck promised.

* * *

**Yep. That just happened. Before any of you start to ask, no this isn't the end of the story. There's more to come.**

**I'd like to use this opportunity now to reveal my inspiration for Multo/Fatima. If some of you people are fans of the stop-animation film studio, **_**LAIKA Studios, **_**I'm sure you guys would recognize Fatima's overall villain arc as similar to Agatha Prenderghast from **_**Paranorman. **_**I also incorporated a little bit of Spinel from **_**Steven Universe **_**in terms of how unstable Fatima becomes when she's Multo, particularly when her eyes go black with blood-red irises (I call that her "Full-Rage Mode").**

**Thanks for all the favorites, follows, and reviews! Please leave a review on this chapter as well when you have the time. I'll see you guys in the next chapter. Bye :D**

**-GuardianDragon98**


	12. Chapter 12

**Sorry this took a while to post. I had to wrap up all the loose ends this week prior to officially calling myself a college graduate. After that, I was feeling pretty drained so motivation to write was low.**

**I… might have also started watching My Hero Academia and have been reading a lot of fanfics in that fandom.**

**But I'm still gonna write these Sonic fanfics. In fact, I've got a lot of ideas planned. Haven't written them yet but they're stashed in my brain and waiting for me to translate into words on a page.**

**In the meantime, sorry for the long wait. I present the next chapter of **_**My Past is Not A Pretty Place**_**.**

**NOTE: I OWN NONE OF THE SONIC CHARACTERS, EXCEPT FOR MY OCs. ALL RIGHTS GO TO SEGA.**

* * *

**Chapter 12**

The walk back to the air hangar was mostly silent, save for the occasional sniffle or whimper from some of the team's more traumatized members. Uncle Chuck sighed as he continued rubbing Tails' back. The young fox sniffed, wiping away his tears.

"GROUP MORALE HAS TAKEN A DRASTIC HIT. UNABLE TO FIND SOLUTION TO PROBLEM," Omega droned, his shoulders slumping, looking at Shadow who was walking beside him.

The Ultimate Lifeform's arms were folded tightly against his chest. His eyes stayed looking at his feet as he took one step after the other. Tear tracks marked Shadow's cheeks. No matter how hard he tried to stay stoic, the memory of Maria's death kept replaying in his head. Normally he was able to stop himself from dwelling on the past. Missions and hanging out with his team and Sonic's group distracted him from going down that particular side of memory lane. But Multo's attack had forced all of the anguish of losing his sister in all but blood back up. And he couldn't do anything to stop it.

But now, mingling with the heartache was an ever-growing worry for Sonic. The look on Sonic's face after he had banished Multo to the underworld, the sheer despair locked in the blue hedgehog's emerald irises… it was going to haunt Shadow more than any other spirit, of that he was sure.

The group breathed out a collective sigh of relief when they saw Uncle Chuck's air hangar come into view. Then, to their surprise, two familiar robots rushed over to greet them.

"Boss! You're alive!" Cubot whooped before skidding to a stop when he saw everyone's faces. "Oh boy… You guys made Ms. Multo angry, didn't you?" he asked.

Dr. Eggman's face went red. "And where were you two scrap heaps hiding?" he demanded, prompting Chuck to elbow him in the ribs.

"After Ms. Multo let us go, her spirit sentinels brought us here then left," Orbot explained, opening the hangar doors. He and Cubot went over to the box containing Fatima and her family's bones. "I guess her plan to rile Sonic up worked," he said, looking over the emotionally-drained group as they entered the hangar.

Uncle Chuck stared at the box and, then, all of the pieces fell into place. "Fatima… To think she'd do all of this for revenge…" he murmured, walking over to the box and pushing it to the side while the team sat down. As he pushed the box up against a wall, he noticed an old set of metal drawers beside it. The very last drawer was decorated with stickers of planes and flowers.

The elder hedgehog's eyes lit up. Opening the drawer, he found a small brown photo album.

"Uncle Chuck?" Amy's soft voice made the hedgehog in question look at her. Amy wrung her hands, her eyes still glossy with tears. "Back there during the fight with M-Multo… you and Sonic… you two called her _Fatima_. And she seemed to know you two," she said.

"And she said that she was Sonic's '_best friend_,'" Tails added, his fear replaced with confusion. "Who _is _she?" he wondered out loud.

Uncle Chuck motioned for everyone to sit down, with the exception of Eggman who was taken to a corner and sat down with his two robot lackeys as guards. Once Amy, Blaze, Knuckles, Tails, Silver, Omega, Shadow, and Rouge were seated around him, Uncle Chuck began.

"Before I tell you all about her, there are some things that need to be cleared up. First of all, regarding our past here on Christmas Island… Yes, Sonic and I didn't have it easy here. We were outcasts. The main reason for that was due to Sonic's appearance and power. Almost everyone on Christmas Island was afraid of him. I tried to protect him as best as I could but I couldn't keep an eye on my boy 24/7. Letting Sonic stay here and get hurt is one of my biggest regrets in life.

"That little story Sonic brought up during our first day here about nearly drowning while wearing a muzzle? It really happened. Lloyd and his gang could have killed him and the police refused to press charges on their families for what they did," he said, clenching his fists as tears welled up in his blue eyes.

The air was thick with tension as the team tried to take all of this in. Then Silver raised his hand slightly. "I don't understand, Uncle Chuck. If you and Sonic had such a horrible life here, why didn't you two just leave?" he asked.

"My work as a scientist required secrecy. My colleagues back in Mobotropolis thought it best that I did my research in a remote area so as not to attract the attention of any spies." Uncle Chuck rubbed his eyes and looked at the album and drawings in his hands. "Also, not long after that incident with Lloyd and the other kids, Sonic found a reason to stay," he said quietly and opened the photo album.

The gang crowded around him to get a good look at the photograph. In the background was a house with a small flower garden. Standing in front of the house were four hedgehogs – one of them a little blue one with bright green eyes.

"Sonic was so little…" Blaze murmured, smiling softly as her golden eyes looked at the little blue hedgehog grinning in the photograph.

Amy cooed at how "cute" the Blue Blur was as a kid before noticing that little Sonic had his arm slung over the shoulder of a girl hedgehog.

Compared to Sonic, who had cobalt fur that really stood out, this hedgehog girl's fur was a plain brown. Her muzzle was a lighter shade of brown and her quills were black and reached up to her shoulders with a fringe of black over her forehead right between her ears. She wore a white blouse embroidered with red flowers and a garland of white jasmine around her neck paired with a brown skirt and sandals. Her eyes were large with coal-black irises and she had a gentle smile.

"That's Fatima, isn't it?" Amy asked Uncle Chuck, who nodded. Looking at the smiling hedgehog girl in the picture, Amy couldn't see any similarities between her and Multo. _'She looks so sweet and kind. How can such a cute little girl turn into such a frightening monster?' _

"And those two women…" Knuckles pointed to an adult female hedgehog standing next to Fatima then an elderly hedgehog next to Sonic. "Those must be her mother and her grandmother," he observed.

Uncle Chuck nodded, gently running a finger over a corner of the picture. "Rosario was like a mother to my nephew. Really kind and gentle. And Elena became his grandmother. Hahaha, and she was quite a dancer. Fatima…" the elder hedgehog trailed off, tracing Fatima's smile.

"Fatima was my Sonny boy's first real friend, maybe even his first love." Uncle Chuck smiled wistfully as he gazed at a picture of his nephew and Fatima snuggled up together as they napped. "She meant the whole world to him. It didn't matter to Sonic that the bullies kept picking on him. As long as Fatima was there, he could put up with anything. And he did everything in his power to keep the bullies away from her, too," he said softly.

"She was bullied, too? Why?" Tails tilted his head at the photograph. "She looks so kind," he mumbled.

"She was different. So were Rosario and Elena. They were mediums. Of course, the villagers got the wrong idea and called them _witches_," Uncle Chuck muttered, spitting the word 'witches' out like it was poison.

Shadow's eyes widened. Sonic's knowledge about ghosts and his ability to see them… These three ladies were the reason why the blue hedgehog had such gifts?

"Yep. Fatima's family were the ones who introduced Sonny boy and I to their ghost friends. Course I never got my third eye opened. I let Sonic have the ritual performed on him though. He was so happy to finally see Fatima's ghost friends," Uncle Chuck chuckled, remembering the night when his nephew decided to become a medium like his best friend.

* * *

_Uncle Chuck stifled a yawn as he and Fatima watched. Sonic kept his eyes closed as Rosario and Elena placed candles around him, chanting._

"_Life and Death, two separate realms. On chosen days, the veil between them falls away. Spirits walk among the living. Some move on, some remain. For the chosen few, they see those who remain. For those who remain, they speak to the chosen few. Tonight, may this child's eye be opened. May he see beyond this mortal realm. Spirits, spirits, gather around. We wish to see and speak to you. We mean no harm. You are free to reveal or conceal yourselves. But know that our eyes are open. May this boy's eye also be opened…"_

"_Kind of spooky, the chant…" Uncle Chuck whispered to Fatima, who was watching her mother and grandmother light the candles around Sonic._

"_Yeah, but it's pretty straightforward. Some of the older chants were, as Lola called them, way too archaic," Fatima whispered back as her Mama and Lola Elena stood on opposite sides of Sonic, their hands held out as if in blessing. The candles glowed like stars in the dark room. It was midnight._

"_Now, we wait. Sonic, hijo, remember to stay quiet and keep your eyes closed. But no falling asleep," Lola Elena reminded the blue hedgehog. Sonic nodded and gave everyone a thumbs up._

_Three hours passed._

_At exactly 3 AM, the candles went out._

_Uncle Chuck felt every hair and quill on him stand on end. All the doors and windows of his and Sonic's house were closed. How'd a gust of wind come in?_

_Sonic opened his eyes all of a sudden. For a minute, he blinked and squinted into the darkness. Then, slowly, his eyes widened and a delighted laugh burst out of his mouth._

"_Well, Sonic? See anything different?" Rosario asked, smiling._

"_Y-You're Doña Celia… Sergeant Juni… Emily… and you must be Lolo Enrique!" Sonic exclaimed, pointing to four different spots in the room. "I can _see_! I can _see _them!"_

_Sonic grinned and bowed to each of Fatima's ghost friends. "It's so nice to finally see you four! I know you guys already know me… but I want to say 'thank you' for helping me all those years ago! You four and Fatima saved my life. Doña Celia, Sergeant Juni, Emily, Lolo Enrique… thank you so much!" he said earnestly._

_Uncle Chuck felt the room's temperature drop and chuckled. He'd gotten used to the chill, knowing that it came from a friendly source. He watched Sonic hurry over to Rosario and Elena, giving them both big hugs while thanking them. Finally, his nephew ran over to Fatima, the young girl giggling as she and Sonic whirled around the room._

"_I can see them, Fatima! I can see ghosts just like you do now!" Sonic cheered._

"_Okay, Blue Streak, calm down. I'm getting dizzy…" Fatima laughed as they stopped whirling. She then took out a strip of white cloth inscribed with all kinds of symbols. "Now that your third eye has been opened, you need to learn how to distinguish good spirits from bad ones as well as how to protect yourself," she said, tying the strip around Sonic's right wrist._

"_That's a spell tag. It'll keep the bad spirits away from you. We should start teaching you some of the basic exorcism incantations as well…" Fatima mused before Sonic engulfed her in a hug._

"_I'm so happy… I get to see the world the way you see it…" Sonic whispered to her. Pulling away from Fatima, he smiled. "Thank you, angel."_

_Even in the dark, Uncle Chuck could tell that Fatima was blushing as she hugged his nephew back. He, Elena, and Rosario looked at each other and smiled. _

_No doubt about it. The two best friends had grown even closer now that they could both see the world in an entirely new way._

* * *

"For a while, everything was fine. The only thing different was that, instead of just Fatima, Sonic would tell me about what their ghost friends were doing and saying so I wouldn't be out of the loop." Uncle Chuck sighed, his posture sagging. To the team, it looked like he suddenly aged by another decade.

"Two years later, Sonic and I went to Mobotropolis. I had to go meet with my colleagues and I thought Sonic would like to go. If I'd known what was going to happen…" Sighing, Uncle Chuck looked at the team. "We were gone for an entire day. It was already late when we came back. While I was flying the Tornado, Sonic saw smoke rising up from one spot on the island. We tried to land as fast as we could. By the time we got to Fatima's house, it was already engulfed in flames…" he whispered, shuddering.

To this day, Sonic's screams as he carried him out of the burning house still haunted his nightmares.

* * *

_He struggled to hold back his tears as he loosely wrapped sterile dressing around Sonic's hands. The younger hedgehog remained conscious the entire time. His anguished wails petered out into quiet sobs as Uncle Chuck treated his burns._

'_Second-degree burns from the looks of it… I need to take him to a doctor, fast…' Uncle Chuck thought. _

_But no way in hell was he going to take Sonic to the hospital here. Not after what they'd just run from. He swore he saw one of the nurses at the fire earlier…_

"_They're… gone…"_

_Uncle Chuck looked up from treating Sonic's burns to find his nephew staring at him with red-rimmed eyes._

"_Fatima… Mama Rosario… Lola Elena… they're gone. I couldn't save them… I let them die…" Tears trickled down Sonic's cheeks. "I let Fatima die…" he whimpered, clenching his fists._

"_Sonic… Sonic, no… No, my boy. This wasn't your fault…" Uncle Chuck told him, gently coaxing his nephew into unclenching his fists so as not to aggravate his burns. "None of this was your fault," he whispered, embracing Sonic._

_Sonic curled up against him, body shaking as he sobbed. Bowing his head, Uncle Chuck let his own tears fall._

'_Elena… Rosario… Fatima… I should have done something. I should have asked them to come along. I should have stayed here to keep an eye on the villagers in case they tried to harass them… I should have… Dear Chaos, if I'd only known this would happen!' he thought, squeezing his eyes shut._

_Sonic's quiet voice pierced through the grief._

"_I want to leave."_

_Uncle Chuck's heart cracked as he looked at Sonic. The little boy's face was tearstained and shadowed with grief. In his eyes, fury lurked behind the sorrow. For a brief moment, Chuck couldn't recognize his nephew and felt a prickle of fear._

"_They killed Fatima… I'll… __**never**__… forgive them. I want to leave this island, Uncle Chuck. I want to leave and never come back," Sonic said, his tone cold._

_Unable to say anything, Chuck nodded and hurried to prepare the Tornado for takeoff. They'd stayed in one area for too long. Who's to say they weren't the villagers' next target?_

_The Tornado took off in record time. Peering over his shoulder, Uncle Chuck found Sonic staring straight ahead. "I'm taking you to the hospital, Sonny boy. And then I'll contact some of my friends and see if we can stay at their place for a while until we find out own," he said softly._

_Sonic nodded, closing his eyes, the grief and stress from recent events finally taking their toll. But, just before he slipped into unconsciousness, he muttered, "I am never going back, __**ever**__."_

_And while he didn't voice out his agreement, Uncle Chuck swore the same thing: that he would never return to Christmas Island._

* * *

Uncle Chuck sniffed, wiping a tear from his eye. "We both swore that we would never set foot on this island again… And, yet, here we are…" he muttered.

The photo album was passed around. The team was able to get a good look at the photographs – arranged chronologically – that showed Sonic and Fatima's friendship through the ages. And it was hard for everyone (bar Eggman and his two robot henchmen) to look at the photographs and not feel like their hearts were being twisted then slowly ripped apart.

There was a class photo from when Sonic was seven and he was standing next to Fatima, both of them making silly faces.

A photo from Halloween where Sonic was dressed as a little blue devil with Fatima dressed as an angel.

One picture, probably a candid shot, showed the two kids making iced gems, Rosario helping them pipe the frosting. Another showed Lola Elena teaching the two how to dance the waltz.

"Sonic… He looks so happy…" Tails whispered, gazing at a photograph of his brother laughing as he gave Fatima a piggyback ride.

"How… How old was Fatima when she…" Blaze trailed off, looking almost afraid to know the answer.

"Eleven. That's what's most tragic, really. She died before she could truly live," Uncle Chuck murmured.

'_She died before she could truly live…'_

Shadow felt a pang in his heart at those words just as the album was passed to him. The photo he saw just made it worse.

Sonic and Fatima were wearing matching flower crowns and smiling at the camera. Flanking them, floating above the two, were four more flower crowns. Probably their ghost friends…

Looking at Fatima, it didn't take long for Shadow to see the similarities.

Chaos, he and Sonic really _are _alike – in more ways than one.

Wordlessly, Shadow handed Rouge the album and sped out of the hangar.

Realizing where the black hedgehog was running off to, Uncle Chuck tried to follow only to be stopped by Rouge.

"It's all right, Uncle Chuck. After everything you've told us… I think Shadow's just the guy Big Blue needs to see right now," Rouge reassured the inventor, smiling.

* * *

**I admit it's shorter than the other chapters…**

**And if any of you are wondering, this is sort of Sonadow. Sonic and Shadow aren't exactly in a relationship, per se. But they are quickly getting closer to one another. The events on Christmas Island are a big step towards these two caring deeply for each other.**

**Anyways, read and review. Stay safe, stay healthy, and STAY. AT. HOME (if you can).**

**-GuardianDragon98**


	13. Chapter 13

**Well, this took a bit longer than I expected to finish. I planned to include all the angst and comforting in this one chapter, but I think 13 or so pages dedicated to the angst is a good way to make you all crave for comfort in the next chapter.**

**On with the story!**

**NOTE: I DO NOT OWN ANYTHING HERE (EXCEPT FOR MY OCs).**

* * *

**Chapter 13**

"_Hey, Sonic… do you think we'll still be best friends even when we grow up?"_

_Twelve-year-old Sonic paused from weaving flower stems and turned to Fatima, who was sitting next to him. In Fatima's lap was an already finished flower crown, consisting of white and yellow daisies. Looking down at his work, Sonic blushed. The weaving was all over the place and he was sure that he'd ripped a few petals off by accident._

_But Fatima's question echoed in his mind, making him frown._

"_Of course we will, Fatima." Looking at the medium, Sonic cocked his head to the side. "Why wouldn't we be?" he asked, noticing how Fatima's arms were wrapped around her middle. _

"_Oh, you know…" Fatima hugged herself tighter, biting her bottom lip. "It's just… I'm moving to my Lola's home province in a few months. You and Uncle Chuck will be moving to Mobotropolis after us. We're both going to different places. We'll grow up, meet new people, make new friends… I mean, what if we end up drifting apart?" she asked softly._

'_So that's what she's worried about,' Sonic thought._

_Not long after Fatima's 11__th__ birthday, Lola Elena and Mama Rosario managed to find a new home and were already making preparations to leave Christmas Island. At the same time, Sonic and Uncle Chuck started looking for a new house in Mobotropolis. Both families had agreed to visit each other after they'd settled into their new homes._

_As happy he was about finally leaving Christmas Island, Sonic couldn't help but feel a little sorrowful. He and Fatima were no longer going to be neighbors and probably wouldn't be able to see each other as often as they liked._

_And Fatima had a point. They will meet new people in their new homes, hopefully, people who are nicer and more accepting of their quirks. _

_The idea of making new friends and maybe growing closer to them than Fatima… Of Fatima making her own friends… Of the two of them drifting apart as the years went by… _

_Sonic had never really given it much thought until now._

_Fatima was staring at him now, a hopeful yet fearful look in her eyes._

_Sonic took a deep breath, let it out, and gave her a bright smile. "We won't drift apart, angel. After all, we made a promise to each other. Remember? When we grow up, we'll travel the world together and have adventures. Sure, we'll be apart for now since we're moving to different places. But that won't last forever! When we see each other again, we'll just pick up from where we left off," he replied._

_Fatima's worry melted away and she managed to give Sonic a soft smile._

"_Sure… we'll make our own friends. But that's to be expected. And, honestly, I think it's something to look forward to. I'm sure you'll meet other mediums and that you'll be friends with them. Maybe I'll be lucky and make some friends who won't see me as a blue freak," Sonic said, his voice quietly trailing off at his last sentence._

_Seeing the dip in her friend's move, Fatima playfully nudged him. "Hey, maybe you'll meet another hedgehog who's as fast as you, Blue Streak," she said._

"_Nah! I'm sure there won't be another like me out there!" Sonic winked, making her giggle._

"_I dunno, Blue Streak. The world's a big place. You never know who you're gonna meet," Fatima countered, placing the flower crown on Sonic's head._

_Sonic chuckled, going back to working on Fatima's flower crown. When he was finished, he faced Fatima and grinned. "Your crown, Your Highness," he said reverently, placing the delicate circlet of flowers on Fatima's head._

"_Why, thank you, my Knight of the Wind," Fatima replied, smiling that beautiful smile that never failed to make butterflies fill up Sonic's stomach._

_Sighing, Sonic gently took Fatima's hands in hers. "Fatima…" He swallowed, listening to his heart and deciding to just go for it. "You… You mean the whole world to me. I know this whole moving away thing's gonna be hard for you. Heck, it's gonna be hard for me, too. But don't ever think that I'm going to drift away from you. You're my best friend, my savior, my _angel _who's never abandoned me. And I want you to know that I'll never abandon you either. As long as I'm around, nothing bad is ever going to happen to you. We'll _always _be best friends, Fatima. In this life and in the afterlife," he promised._

_He was certain his cheeks were now as red as his shoes, but Sonic didn't mind it. Not when Fatima, after taking a moment to let his words sink in, gave him a most dazzling smile and threw her arms around him._

"_Thank you, Sonic… You…" Fatima's voice is so soft he has to tip his head down until it's resting against her shoulder. "You mean the whole world to me, too."_

_A massive grin spread across Sonic's face as he hugged Fatima tightly. The sweet smell of jasmines made him sigh happily._

_Sure, he and Fatima were going to different places and would be apart for a while. But they would see each other again. And, when the time came, they would go out into the world together._

_And they would always be best friends._

_Both in this life and in the afterlife._

* * *

Sonic stared at his gloved hands. Chaos, he was tired. _So _tired. He wanted to lie down amongst the flowers and let their sweet scent lull him to sleep. Sleep, that's what he needed. Maybe when he woke up, he would find that everything had been a bad dream…

But every time he closed his eyes, he saw Fatima burning. Her entire body spontaneously combusted and her screams would ring in his ears before the red and orange flames suddenly turned black. Then, before his eyes, Multo would appear, her maddened red eyes narrowed at him in hate.

"_**I HATE YOU!"**_

Those had been his best friend's last words before he banished her…

Sonic grit his teeth. His hands itched so horribly. He started scratching them, not caring if his gloves ended up getting ripped. He had to find a way to distract himself from all the awful thoughts piling up inside his head.

But no matter how hard he scratched, Sonic couldn't keep his thoughts at bay.

Fatima's frightened face as she looked at him, the realization that he wasn't going to be able to save her clear as day.

The look of sheer and utter betrayal on Multo's face when he refused to join her.

The hatred in her eyes as she was dragged into the underworld by his incantation.

'_Your fault… It's your fault. You left her there to die. You didn't save her. You weren't there when she needed you the most. You left her for dead and didn't even give her the proper funeral rites. And, now, you let Tails and the rest of the gang get hurt. Your fault. Your fault. YOUR FAULT!'_

A choked sob left Sonic's mouth as he slammed his hands against both sides of his head, shaking it frantically. Squeezing his eyes shut, he tried to stop the seemingly endless swirl of guilt from dragging him down.

But his troubled heart and mind refused to cooperate. To make things worse, he heard Multo's voice inside his head again.

"_**You were my hero! You promised that you would always protect me! Where were you when I needed you, Blue Streak?!"**_

"_**I waited for you, Sonic! I thought you would come back to, at least, give me and my family the proper rites, but you never did! You abandoned me!"**_

"_**You forgot about me and made new friends… It's like I never existed…"**_

"I'm sorry… I'm sorry, Fatima. I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry…" Sonic whispered, rocking back and forth.

"…Sonic?"

Sonic gasped and opened his eyes, meeting Shadow's worried gaze. The black-and-red hedgehog stood in front of him, his right arm extended as if he was reaching out to him.

"Shadow…"

* * *

Shadow had never seen Sonic like this.

The blue hedgehog was a complete mess, his quills ruffled, and his verdant eyes all puffy and bloodshot. His gloves had small rips and tears in them, his hands clenched into tight fists. Shadow noticed that he was biting his lip, trying his best to stop himself from crying.

'_What… What do I do now?' _Shadow asked himself, withdrawing his hand (Sonic didn't look like he was going to hold it anyway). Emotional support was something he still hadn't gotten the hang of. He usually left the comforting to Rouge whenever they had to deal with civilians in distress during their missions. Given everything that happened, just telling Sonic that it was going to be okay wasn't going to work. So, what could he do?

Looking at the flowers around them, Shadow got an idea.

A completely random idea but, maybe, if he was patient enough, it could work.

Shadow picked some flowers from the field then sat down in front of Sonic. He glanced at the cobalt runner and saw that he was watching Shadow with an apprehensive gaze. Then, with a soft sigh, he removed his gloves and began to weave the flowers' stems into a crown. He could feel Sonic's stare on his hands. Thanks to his Black Arms DNA, the red stripes on his arms extended to his middle finger and ring finger. There was also the matter of his claws, which had to be kept filed down to ensure that he wouldn't accidentally scratch up the furniture at Rouge's apartment.

Shadow felt a light heat flood his cheeks. He knew from brief discussions with Rouge that having one's gloves off was a sign of intimacy amongst Mobians. To think that, out of all people, _Sonic _was the one he was baring them to.

It felt kind of… nice.

"What are you doing?" Sonic asked quietly.

All right. He was talking. This was a good start.

"Cream taught me how to make flower crowns a while back." Shadow tied two stems together, holding up his project. So far, he had the basic framework down. "As for why I have my gloves off, I discovered early on that it helps since I can feel the stems while tying them," he explained, seeing how Sonic was looking at his hands.

For a few minutes, Sonic didn't say anything as he worked. His fists slowly uncurled. Shadow smiled a little. Now… onto the next phase of his plan.

Handing the half-finished flower crown over to Sonic, Shadow asked, "Think you can finish what I started, Blue?"

Sonic blinked at him, surprised, but nodded. The blue hedgehog got to work. But his fingers were clumsy and unsure. Biting his lip, Sonic tried not to think too much about the hundreds of flower crowns he and Fatima made in this very field.

She could make a flower crown in ten minutes flat while it took him half an hour to finish one.

"It'd be a lot easier if you aren't wearing your gloves," Shadow suggested. Almost immediately, he regretted his words as Sonic looked at him. His blue counterpart's eyes were wide and his whole body had tensed up.

"B-But," Chaos, did he just _stutter_? "if you want to keep them on, y-you can. No pressure," said Shadow, holding his hands up in a gesture of peace.

Then, to his surprise, Sonic took off his gloves.

Shadow tried not to shudder as the blue hedgehog's gloves were slowly pulled off, revealing leathery skin the color of rust. The burn scars spread all the way to Sonic's fingers and only a few spots had patches of peach fur growing on them. The paw pads were slightly cracked and dark red in color.

Shadow felt slightly sick. _'He must have kept going… Digging through burning rubble to try and save Fatima's body…' _he realized in horror.

Sonic said nothing, choosing to return to the task at hand. "What do you think?" he asked Shadow once he had finished.

The flower crown was beautiful. The stems were woven in an intricate pattern that added to the beauty of the flowers. Shadow was amazed and wondered if Cream had learned how to make flower crowns from Sonic.

"She loved making these…"

Shadow looked at Sonic, the blue hedgehog's gaze trained on the flower crown in his hands.

"Every day, after school, we'd come here and play. When we got tired and decided to take a break, she always picked the best flowers and made crowns for both of us to wear," Sonic said softly, admiring his and Shadow's handiwork. Then he met Shadow's gaze. "I'm guessing Uncle Chuck told you about her, huh?" he asked him.

"He told us enough." Shadow shrugged, relieved that Sonic was finally talking to him. "That she was your only friend on this island, that she and her family were the ones who helped you become a medium and taught you everything you know about ghosts…" he trailed off, folding his arms across his chest.

"And… that you loved her."

Sonic nodded, a small smile forming on his face. "She was everything to me… As long as I was with her, I could forget about all the bullying and all the mean looks everyone else gave me," he said quietly.

"_Go home, Freak!"_

"_That kid's going to be a troublemaker one day, mark my words. That blue fur and speed… it's unnatural…"_

"_That uncle of his is odd, too. Why are we even letting those two stay here?"_

Tears welled up in Sonic's eyes. "I hated my life here. Fatima and her family were the only sources of joy I had…" he admitted to Shadow, who gave him a worried look. Bowing his head, Sonic furiously scrubbed his eyes. "And then I lost them…" he whispered.

Shadow scooted closer to Sonic. Swallowing the lump in his throat, he murmured, "Sonic, I…" before the blue hedgehog looked at him and let out a soft chuckle.

"You know? I've always admired you, Shads." Sonic smiled at the Ultimate Lifeform, who blinked at him, stunned. "You can remember Maria without breaking down. Even though you still miss her terribly, you're able to recall all the good times with her and even tell us a little bit about her. I've never been able to do that. Heck, you guys only found out about Fatima today. I've kept her a secret for so long…" he told Shadow.

"You… could have told _me_…" Shadow said, taking the flower crown from Sonic and gently laying it aside. _'I could have helped you… We could have helped each other…' _he silently added.

If he had known that Sonic was suffering from the same kind of trauma – the trauma that could only come from having to watch a loved one die right in front of you – he would have tried harder to be friends with the Blue Blur…

"I wanted to," Sonic said, avoiding the black hedgehog's gaze. "But… you didn't exactly want to talk to me about anything, let alone Maria. I tried to reach out to you after we took down Neo Metal Sonic but you… pushed me away…"

Shadow felt like he'd been punched in the gut. Chaos, he remembered now… The words he'd said to Sonic that day…

* * *

"_Would you just leave me alone?!"_

"_No way, Shads! I know you're having a lot of trouble right now with that memory of yours. I wanna help!"_

_Shadow scoffed as he got up from his spot under the tree overlooking the city. Stomping away from Sonic, he couldn't help but think that the blue hedgehog was being stupid. How was he going to help him? His memory was like Swiss cheese at the moment and it wasn't like talking to him was going to make him feel any better…_

_A small gust got Shadow's attention and he looked up from the ground to see Sonic standing in front of him, that cocky smile of his plastered on his face as usual._

"_Come on, Shadow. You're not gonna feel better if you keep bottling all of your emotions up. Plus, talking to someone about your past can help you remember more. Don't worry. I won't tell anyone whatever you want to tell me. The ARK, Professor Gerald, Maria…"_

_He snapped._

_Without thinking, Shadow delivered a right hook to Sonic's left cheek. The blue hedgehog yelped, staggering backward, cradling his now swollen cheek. "Shads, what the hell?!"_

"_Don't. Say. Her. Name." Shadow growled, pushing him away. "Don't even think you have the right to hear me say anything about her. You didn't know her," he said coldly._

"_I-I know I don't. I just…" Sonic bit his lip. "Look, I know about what happened. And… I know I won't ever be able to fully understand your pain but…" he said haltingly before Shadow cut him off._

"_But what?! You know what it feels like to lose a friend?!" Shadow narrowed his eyes at his rival and jabbed his finger at Sonic's chest. "Speak for yourself! You still have Tails, that guardian, and that pink fangirl of yours!" he snarled._

_Sonic stared at him, emerald eyes wide._

"_What do you know about loss, Faker?! What do you know about losing someone who means so much to you?!" Shadow screamed._

_Sonic didn't understand. Rouge didn't understand. Omega didn't understand. Nobody understood how he felt… Why would they even try?_

_Shadow took several deep breaths to try and calm down. When he looked at Sonic, he wasn't prepared to see the multitude of emotions chasing themselves across the Blue Blur's face._

_Shock._

_Sadness._

_Anger._

_Guilt._

_Pain._

_He could see all of those in the minute changes in Sonic's demeanor as well as his emerald green eyes. For a brief moment, Shadow contemplated apologizing._

_Then, Sonic… smiled at him._

_But it wasn't the sunny, confident smile the hero usually gave to his friends and complete strangers. It was a bitter smile – one that spoke volumes yet kept silent at the same time._

"_More than you think, Shads," Sonic said quietly, and, suddenly, it's as if he was looking at an entirely different person._

_Before Shadow could say anything, Sonic turned around and started walking away._

"_I won't bother you anymore. But… if you ever wanna talk, you know where to find me," Sonic said as he walked away._

_Shadow stood there, blinking owlishly at the retreating blue hedgehog's back. Part of him was angry. How dare Sonic think he understood his feelings then leave with such a cryptid answer?!_

_But another part of him felt something he hadn't felt in a long time – guilt._

_As he turned his back to Sonic, Shadow waited for the Faker to make a sonic boom as he ran off._

_But no sonic boom came._

_Looking over his shoulder, Shadow could see Sonic still walking._

_Odd… the Faker rarely walked, opting to run. Was he… giving Shadow time to catch up to him so they could talk?_

_Shadow turned around and took one step forward. Maybe… Maybe he could talk to Sonic, as long as he didn't blab about anything to the others._

_But he decided too late._

_At the same time Shadow took one step forward, Sonic broke into a run and disappeared into the distance in a blur of blue._

* * *

Shadow felt regret and shame fill his entire being. Chaos, how could he have been so cruel to Sonic?

"Sonic, I am _so _sorry… I-I wasn't in a really good state of mind at that time," he said, but Sonic shook his head.

"Shadow, it's okay. I forgave you right afterward. _I _should be the one apologizing to _you_. I didn't take your situation seriously enough," the blue hedgehog said firmly. Then his green eyes turned sad. "Besides… if we're talking about our pasts, I wouldn't have had the courage to tell you, or anyone, really, about mine. Because every time I start to think about it… I can't stop," he admitted.

Tears welled up in Sonic's eyes and his breath hitched as he spoke. "Every time I think about Fatima… I remember all the happy moments first… and then the bad moments until… until I remember that night. No matter how hard I try to block it out, it always comes back to me… The flames… the villagers just standing there doing nothing… and the look in Fatima's eyes when she realized I wasn't going to be able to save her… I… I…" he whimpered as the floodgates burst open.

"I just don't understand…"

Shadow could only watch, his heart cracking, as Sonic curled in on himself. Tears streamed down the blue hedgehog's face as he sobbed, his scarred hands clenched into fists.

"She was just a kid. She didn't do anything wrong. Sure, she could talk to ghosts but she never used her power to hurt anyone. Even when Lolo Enrique, Doña Celia, Emily, Sergeant Juni, and other ghosts wanted to get back at the bullies, she always told them to back off. She was so kind even to those who wished ill upon her and her family. She could never bring herself to hate anyone. I just don't understand… I _still _don't understand…" Sonic whispered brokenly before looking at Shadow, his eyes filled with despair.

"_Why did they kill her?"_

Shadow, honestly, didn't know how to answer. He'd asked that question hundreds of times before, during those late nights after he woke up from nightmares of witnessing Maria's death again and again.

Why her? Why did it have to be her?

Sweet, gentle Maria who would never hurt a fly… why was she killed?

He would later get his answer: because the previous Commander of G.U.N. had been corrupt and given his men orders to shoot anyone who resisted on sight. Towers, while his relationship with Shadow was strained, was a better Commander who made sure to weed out corrupt officials before they caused any damage.

As for Sonic, Shadow couldn't find any answers that would completely satisfy the former. He couldn't understand it either.

The cruelty of humans, he could understand. He had seen and experienced it firsthand.

But the cruelty of Mobians towards their own kind… the cruelty that led to the murder of an innocent family… all because they could do things others couldn't… he didn't really understand.

Looking at Sonic, who was openly sobbing, Shadow finally understood what everyone meant when they called him and Sonic mirrors of each other.

They were both similar in terms of their abilities and their pasts. Yet their personalities and their ways of coping with the past were so different.

Shadow was quiet and brooding yet chose to embrace his past and learn how to move on.

Sonic was loud and bold yet chose to bury his past and continued to dwell on it.

He couldn't deny that the way Sonic had been acting ever since they all came to Christmas Island had hurt him and the others. The blue hedgehog had been temperamental and cold towards them. It was as if he'd forgotten that they even existed.

But, now, Shadow understood why Sonic had acted in such a manner. The past had caught up to him and he was being forced to relive it the longer they stayed on the island.

Sighing heavily, Shadow went closer to Sonic and wrapped his arms around the blue hedgehog. Sonic stiffened for a moment but melted into the embrace as he continued crying.

"I don't know why Sonic… I don't know why they treated you and Fatima so horribly… why they killed her…" Shadow gently ran his hand through blue quills. "But you don't have to bear all of this pain on your own now… I'm here…" he reassured his friend.

Unable to take it anymore, Sonic cried in earnest, burying his face in Shadow's chest. His wails were muffled by the black hedgehog's chest fur as his body shook with each sob.

All the while, Shadow held him, rocking him back and forth and murmuring softly to him, "It's okay, Sonic… Let it out… Let it all out… I'm not going anywhere, Sonic. I'm right here. I'm right here… _I'm here for you._"

* * *

**This was the product of listening to NateWantsToBattle's cover of "Drift Away" from the Steven Universe Movie. Honestly, I can totally see Sonic singing this song when he's reminiscing about Fatima but instead of taking the meaning of the song literally, it's played in the context of how sudden the happiness Sonic and Fatima had with each other was taken away when the latter was killed. Let me know what you guys think of that idea.**

**As for Shadow's flashback, it takes place shortly after the events of _Sonic Heroes_, in case anyone's wondering.**

**In the meantime, read and review!**

**-GuardianDragon98**


	14. Chapter 14

**We're nearing the home stretch. Get ready for some feels.**

**NOTE: I DO NOT OWN ANYTHING HERE! ALL SONIC CHARACTERS BELONG TO SEGA!**

* * *

**Chapter 14**

He hadn't cried this hard in years. Nor did he imagine that, when he finally let out all the pain he'd bottled up for so long, _Shadow _would be the one to comfort him.

Sonic wept, heart-wrenching sobs and whimpers tearing out of his throat, and clung onto Shadow as if the latter would disappear if he let go. But Shadow had no intention of doing so, keeping his arms securely wrapped around the Blue Blur's body and whispering softly to him.

"It's okay, Sonic… Shhh… It's okay. I'm here…" Shadow rubbed circles around Sonic's back, letting the blue hedgehog cry for as long as he needed. He felt tears soak into his fur but he didn't mind, focusing on keeping Sonic in his arms and trying to give the hero the comfort he so desperately needed.

At that moment, Shadow decided that he was done being emotionally closed-off to Sonic. Ever since he defeated Black Doom, Shadow took steps to become more sociable starting with strengthening his bond with Rouge and Omega. Then he occasionally babysat little Cream for Vanilla whenever he was in the neighborhood. But, apart from that, he maintained a businesslike manner around the others who considered him as a friend, never really mingling with them unless it was required.

Until Sonic upped his efforts to interact with him more, that is. With every race, every spar, every conversation, the shields Shadow had put up over his emotions - and, ultimately, his heart - started coming down. The more time he spent with Sonic, the less afraid he was of letting the blue hedgehog get a glimpse of the real him. He wasn't afraid to approach Sonic so he could rant about his frustrations over humanity and his own insecurities; because Sonic never judged him and listened to him.

Now it was Shadow's turn to do the same for him. He held Sonic in his arms, letting the latter cry his heart out. The sun was steadily climbing up the sky, illuminating the flower field the two hedgehogs were currently at. Almost an hour passed until Sonic's sobs dissolved into soft sniffles.

"S-sorry…" Sonic croaked, finally looking at Shadow, his eyes puffy and red from crying.

"It's fine, Sonic. You have nothing to apologize for," Shadow told him, gently brushing the tears from Sonic's face.

"B-But I do…" Sonic clenched his fists, staring at his scars with a remorseful look. "This whole mess is my fault… I didn't save Fatima… I left her and her family to rot, let the villagers cover up their remains and the evidence of their crimes, and… Chaos, Shads, I didn't even come back to give them a proper funeral and pay my respects… I might as well have…" he whimpered, leaning into Shadow.

"I killed her, Shadow. I killed Fatima both in life and in death. Some best friend I turned out to be," Sonic sighed.

To his shock, Shadow grabbed his hands and held them tight. Sonic tried to pull his hands free. He hated his scarred hands. They were rough and so ugly. And they were nothing more than hideous reminders of how he failed to save his first real friend.

Compared to his, Shadow's hands were beautiful. The black and red fur adorning them was silky soft and Shadow had the most adorable pink paw pads, and Sonic was sorely tempted to squish them.

"Shadow…" Sonic whispered, trying to pull his hands away. He didn't want to sully Shadow's perfect hands with his ugly scarred ones.

But Shadow had a firm grip on them. Squeezing Sonic's hands, he said, "No, Sonic. Fatima's death _wasn't _your fault. You did everything you could to save her. The villagers were the ones who started the fire. And they should apologize to you and Uncle Chuck."

Sonic's ears flattened against his head. "I still should have returned to give Fatima and her family the proper funeral rites. If I had then… maybe she wouldn't have become Multo in the first place," he said, shuddering at the memory of Multo revealing her true identity to him. "I still can't believe that she turned into… a monster. She was so kind. She would never hurt anyone…"

"As hard to believe it, Sonic, Fatima's transformation into Multo makes sense. It's just as you said: angry spirits are the ones who either died a violent death or were buried without the proper rites. Fatima, unfortunately, experienced both. The Doctor disturbing her grave must have been the last straw for her." Shadow interlaced his fingers with Sonic.

"But maybe there's still a way to save her soul. She said that she'll find a way to escape from the underworld, right? While we still have time, let's regroup with the rest of the team and prepare ourselves." Shadow's eyes shone with determination. Giving Sonic's hands a firm squeeze, he said, "I don't think our fight with Multo is finished. We have to be ready."

Looking into Shadow's eyes, Sonic felt like his stomach was suddenly filled with butterflies. He'd seen Shadow determined before, the guy living up to his title as the Ultimate Lifeform as he charged on ahead in order to accomplish whatever he set out to do. But, this time, he saw Shadow looking both determined and hopeful like he honestly believed that there was still a way to save Fatima's soul before it was lost to the darkness forever.

And, deep down, Sonic hoped that Shadow was right. Even when Multo possessed him, Sonic had felt Fatima. Deep down, she was still there.

'_I'll save her this time. I won't fail her again. I _will _save her,' _Sonic thought, a spark of hope igniting in his eyes.

"Thank you, Shadow…" he whispered, pressing his forehead against Shadow's, the black hedgehog humming softly.

"Sonic, if you ever…" Shadow took a deep breath, choosing his words carefully. "If you ever feel like you're lost or need to let your emotions out… you can always come to me you know?" he offered, rubbing the soft spaces between Sonic's thumbs and index fingers.

Sonic laughed softly. "I'll keep that in mind, Shads," he said, feeling good for the first time since he set foot on Christmas Island.

Shadow let the hero slip his gloves back on and donning his own, carefully tucking his inhibitor rings over the cuffs. Then, without thinking, he and Sonic interlaced their fingers and left the flower field hand-in-hand.

When they arrived at the hangar, the two of them were stunned to see the villagers being confronted by Uncle Chuck, Amy, Tails, Knuckles, Rouge, Blaze, and Silver.

"I know we're the last persons you all want to see." Ashley meekly lowered her head. "But if you will just hear us out," she pleaded.

"After everything you've done to Sonic and Uncle Chuck? What makes you think he'll even want to see you?" Knuckles narrowed his eyes at them.

Sonic stiffened when one of the children, Lucia, spotted him. "Mr. Sonic!" she called out, waving to him, drawing everyone's attention to him and Shadow. He felt Shadow squeeze his hand and relaxed.

Lucia, Rody, Sophie, and the other kids approached him. Then, to Sonic's shock, they knelt on the ground and bowed, touching their heads to the earth. Recognizing the gesture as a way to convey deep apologies, he said, "Hey, come on, you kids don't have to say sorry for anything…"

"But our parents do." A little bear cub looked up at him, his eyes glossy. "On their behalf, we want to apologize for all the horrible things they did to you and Mr. Chuck," he said.

"What our grandparents did to Fatima and her family… we know it's unforgivable," Sophie said quietly as she knocked her head against the earth in penance. "And I know it won't bring them back or anything, Mr. Sonic… But we just want to say that we're so sorry."

Rody nodded then turned to look at the adults. He caught his parents' eyes and gave them a pleading look. _'Dad, come on. You already told me the truth. You might as well give Mr. Sonic that long overdue apology,' _he thought as the other kids apologized.

Their parents had told them shortly after what happened at the factory. And Rody and the others couldn't help but feel ashamed, and even a little angry. Their moms and dads had taught them to be nice, even towards strangers. How hypocritical of them that they taught them such values when they had bullied Sonic and Fatima when they were young.

Looking at Sonic, Rody could tell that the hero was having a hard time processing what was happening. The other hedgehog, the one named Shadow, was giving his parents and the rest of the adults a death glare that would scare even the nastiest of villains.

The rest of Sonic's friends were giving Ashley, Arthur, Elsie, Hughie, Jayden, and Karla harsh glares. None of them looked like they were going to forgive the villagers anytime soon.

Sonic sighed, rubbing his temples. He looked at Ashley, whose face crumpled as she knelt and touched her forehead to the ground followed by Lloyd then Jayden… then Hughie… Elsie… Karla… Arthur… then all of the adults.

"Sonic, we are so sorry!" Ashley sobbed.

"For everything. We're sorry for everything," Lloyd said.

"We were wrong to treat you and Fatima so horribly in our youth," Jayden said, his tail tucked between his legs.

"We shouldn't have followed our parents' example. We should have known that they were wrong," Hughie mumbled, his eyes downcast.

"You were right. What we did that night was awful. And we've learned our lesson," Elsie whimpered.

"Multo wasn't the real monster here… _We _are the monsters," Karla admitted.

"To think our own kids apologized first…" Arthur looked at his little Enzo. "And they were hurt because of what we did all those years ago. We're ashamed, Sonic, so ashamed of ourselves. We're sorry. We're so sorry," he apologized.

Sonic looked at each and every one of them, his expression blank. He felt Shadow lean into him and took comfort in the other hedgehog's presence. Then he looked over the crowd of kneeling villagers and met Uncle Chuck's gaze.

His uncle gave him a soft smile and a nod. Finally, after a moment, Sonic sighed. "All right. All of you, get up before you guys get sore knees," he said, helping some of the kids to their feet. When all of the adults were standing up, he gave them a stern look.

"I'll be honest with you all. What you all did to me, to my uncle, and to Fatima and her family… none of that was okay. You hurt us, _badly_. As for the fire…" Sonic clenched his fists and let out a long breath through his nose. "That was the worst thing your parents did. It was _murder_, a crime. And the fact that all of you just stood there and didn't even try to stop them… I don't think I can ever forgive you guys for that," he said at last.

Ashley and the others nodded, their faces somber. They knew that an apology could never fix the damage they had done.

"But," Sonic smiled at the children, who perked up. "that doesn't mean I'm going to let Multo hurt your kids. They don't deserve to be punished for your mistakes," he said.

"We understand, Sonic." Ashley bowed. "And thank you…" she mumbled.

Uncle Chuck cleared his throat. "I have to agree with Sonny boy here. I can't really forgive you for what you all did… but I'm willing to move on and help," he chimed in, going over to his nephew and patting him on the back.

While Enzo and the rest of the kids cheered and surrounded Sonic with hugs, the rest of the gang looked at each other and smiled. Seeing Sonic laugh and joke around with the kids, finally back to his happy self, was reassuring to them.

Shadow left Sonic's side and went over to Rouge and Omega.

"SHADOW…" Omega pointed to Sonic. "YOU WERE HOLDING HANDS WITH SONIC," he said in what Shadow could only interpret as a smug tone.

"Yeah. What of it?" Shadow asked quickly, looking away from Rouge's grinning face.

"Hun, you're going soft for Big Blue, aren't you?" Rouge teased him.

"N-no, I'm not!" Shadow yelped, his cheeks reddening much to his chagrin.

Before Rouge could tease him more, Shadow suddenly felt his fur stand on end. A chill passed through the area, the morning sky suddenly going dark. Light tremors shook the earth.

The team braced themselves while the villagers huddled together in fright.

Keeping the kids close to him, Sonic felt every spine on his body flex up. _'She's coming…' _he thought, his face turning pale as a sinister whisper came from nowhere.

"_**I'm back…"**_

A column of black fire suddenly erupted in the distance. Horrified, the villagers watched as dark spirits emerged from the ground and flew towards the column of fire.

"The tree! They're burning the Century Tree!" Karla screamed, seeing the flames lick at the village's landmark.

A familiar mechanical whir filled the sky as Ghost Badniks, each manned by a ghost, came flying in to join their brothers and sisters.

"I thought we got rid of those robots…" Silver muttered as Blaze went into the hangar to fetch a nervous Dr. Eggman.

The Doctor was sweating bullets at this point as Sonic and his team glared at him. "Don't look at me. That ghost probably sent a few of them away from the island as a failsafe!" he protested.

"Well can you disable them?" Amy asked, readying her Piko Piko Hammer.

"Maybe. If I can access the main sentinel, I should be able to override the secondary hive mind protocol that links them to it," Eggman said, placing his hand to his brow and scouting out the main sentinel that was flying dangerously close to the flames.

"All right." Looking up at the black fire whirl surrounding the Century Tree, Sonic squared his shoulders. "You guys focus on keeping the villagers safe. Leave Fatima to me," he instructed his friends, keeping his eyes on the flames.

Fatima was in there somewhere.

This time he _will _save her.

* * *

**Gear up for the final battle, friends!**

**Will Sonic be able to bring Fatima back into the light? Find out in the next chapter!**

**Until then, read and review!**

**-GuardianDragon98**


	15. Chapter 15

**Hey, everyone. I'm sorry if this chapter took a little while longer than expected to be uploaded. I've been feeling really stressed over the current situation going on and it's been draining me of motivation.**

**That being said, my heart goes out to all of the black people who have been and continue to be oppressed. I hate how, to this day, racism still exists. It **_**needs **_**to end. No matter what color our skin is, we're all human. To my readers, especially in the States, if you're going to join the protests, please be careful. Stay safe.**

**NOTE: I OWN NOTHING! ALL CHARACTERS BELONG TO SEGA!**

* * *

**Chapter 15**

"I count 20 bots in the village. And ten surrounding the Century Tree," Rouge reported as she landed in front of the crew. The team plus Dr. Eggman were laying low, hiding from the Ghost Badniks as they made their way into the village.

Uncle Chuck frowned. "Taking down those Badniks will be easy if we were to charge through and take them by surprise. The main problem is getting rid of the spirits controlling them," he told Sonic who nodded.

"As long as you all wear your spell tags, you'll be safe." Sonic turned to Eggman, the only one – besides himself – who didn't have a tag. "Alright, Egghead. You stick close to me. Shadow, Silver, you're with us. While the others clear a path, we gotta lure Fatima out of the main sentinel so the Doc can get in to shut down the rest," he instructed.

A nearby explosion rocked the ground, the team struggling to keep their balance. "Hiding out here's not going to do us any favors! We gotta move!" Tails exclaimed, twisting his twin tails and lifting off the ground.

The team rushed out of their hiding place and were immediately greeted by Multo's army. "Here they come!" Amy yelled, readying her hammer as three Ghost Badniks rocketed towards them.

The three ghosts piloting the Badniks cackled as they warmed up their laser cannons.

Blaze's sharp eyes then saw something odd flying behind the Badniks. Three white orbs suddenly shot into the Badniks' chests and the robots started malfunctioning, their limbs twitching and jerking.

"BADNIKS MALFUNCTIONING. PERMISSION TO OPEN FIRE?" Omega readied his blaster only for Blaze to stop him.

"Wait, look! The orbs holding the spirits! Something's fighting them from within!" The Princess of the Sol Dimension was right. Thanks to the clear material, the gang could see that the insidious black orbs were tussling with glowing white ones.

"Shoot… We've got company!" Uncle Chuck noticed that more Badniks were coming in.

That's when the three white orbs managed to kick the three black orbs out of their Badniks' casings. Then, to the team's shock, the three Ghost Badniks stood beside them and started firing at the incoming horde.

"What… in the name of Mobius?" Sonic muttered before one of the Ghost Badniks turned to him.

"Come on, soldiers! The battle's not won yet!"

Sonic's eyes widened. "…_Sergeant Juni?!_" he gasped.

At the same time, Knuckles blinked. "That voice… I've heard that voice before…" he mumbled.

The white spirit orb glowed brighter and floated out of the Ghost Badnik. Its form flickered, changing for a brief second. A buff bulldog with black gear and clothed in army camouflage grinned at them before heading back into the Ghost Badnik.

"Look alive, troops! The enemy is upon us!" Sergeant Juni bellowed as he went back to firing, snapping everyone to attention.

Sonic laughed. "You're really here! Then that means…" he looked at the other two Badniks flanking the Sergeant. He felt their presence and grinned. "Hey, Emily! Hola, Doña Celia!"

"Hiya, Sonic!" A child's high-pitched voice issued from the second Badnik which waved one arm at him. "Don't worry! The three of us have got your backs!" Emily assured them, taking down two more Badniks heading for the group.

"Go, _hijo_! We'll handle this!" Doña Celia's true form showed itself to the team. The hedgehog lady looked equal parts determined and worried as she gazed at Sonic and his friends. "Save Fatima!" she pleaded.

Nodding, Sonic led his friends into battle, "Let's do it to it, gang!" he shouted. He led the charge, spin dashing into as many Ghost Badniks as he could. He could hear the spirits whispering in his ears but he ignored them. He pulled Dr. Eggman along with him, the man screaming as he sped up and headed straight for the Century Tree.

* * *

Knuckles and Rouge broke off from the group to take down the first wave of Badniks. Sergeant Juni accompanied them in his Badnik. As Knuckles battered one Badnik Rouge sent his way with her Screw Kick, Sergeant Juni tussled with more dark spirits.

"Back! Back off!" Sergeant Juni growled, sending another ghost that tried to assert control over his Badnik out of his space. Knuckles climbed on top of one Badnik, using it to launch himself into the air. Now gliding, he focused on keeping the several ghosts at bay.

The dark spirits hissed at the sight of Knuckles' spell tag and fled. Rouge joined Knuckles in the air, holding the arm her spell tag was wrapped around to her chest. "These ghosts are relentless," she said, seeing Amy, Tails, and Omega on the ground taking down Ghost Badniks left and right. One of the Ghost Badniks being manned by one of Sonic's ghost friends had taken heavy damage and was barely standing on one leg.

Knuckles grunted, swinging his fist at the ghost of a Mobian skunk. He shivered as his punch went through the spirit, who shrieked and vanished as his spell tag made contact with its flame-cloaked form. "There's so much negative energy on this island. It's making them stronger," he muttered.

The ghost of Sergeant Juni joined them in the air, his Ghost Badnik having been damaged in the fight. "Well, my bot's kaput. At least we managed to take down a quarter of the ones here." He sighed, looking at the Century Tree; specifically, at the one Ghost Badnik flying dangerously close to the fire. "Fatima… The little soldier's in a whole lotta pain and she's letting these no-good spirits feed off of it," he muttered, clenching his fists.

"Come on, you two! Let's give these devils real hell!" Sergeant Juni pulled out an M-16 assault rifle and began firing phantom bullets at the dark spirits swooping towards them.

Knuckles grinned. Now he remembered where he had heard the Sergeant. _'He was the one calling me 'Soldier' last night,' _he thought then looked at Rouge.

"I'll bet you a Chaos Emerald I can take down more ghosts than you," he challenged her.

Rouge's eyes sparkled. "That Emerald is as good as mine," she said and flew towards three ghosts, scaring them off.

* * *

Meanwhile, down on the ground, Doña Celia let out a string of curses in Spanish as she disconnected from her destroyed Badnik. "God Almighty, I'm getting tired of these brutes," she hissed, whirling around Amy, Omega, and Tails as they fought. Her transparent form glowed a bright blue as she tackled one dark spirit after another.

Amy swung her hammer at one more Badnik, leaning against Omega. "The faster we take down these robots, the faster we can get to Sonic and help him," she panted.

"Yeah, but those ghosts aren't going to make it easy," Tails muttered, noticing how more black fireballs kept appearing. "Multo just keeps summoning more of them."

"MUST ANNIHILATE ALL DARK SPIRITS," Omega brought out his machine gun and pointed it at the spirit orbs.

"Hold your fire, robot!" Doña Celia flew over to him and held up her hands. "You can't kill someone who's already dead. And those bullets will just end up injuring the ones alive here. Leave this to me," she told him and faced the dark spirits surrounding the team.

Clearing her throat, Doña Celia took a deep breath and sang out a High C note that made all the ghosts cover their ears and vanish.

Tails mumbled, "Were you an opera singer when you were alive, Doña Celia?" massaging his ears.

"I took lessons, _hijo_," Doña Celia laughed airily. She smiled at Amy and Tails. "Now, come! We must forge on!" she encouraged them, leading the small group.

* * *

The roaring and crackling of flames grew louder as the Century Tree's topmost branches caught fire. Uncle Chuck and Blaze led the villagers who managed to collect buckets of water to try and put out the fires raging in the village.

Blaze grit her teeth as her pyrokinesis went into overdrive. The dark flames swirled into her hands as she collected them into one giant fireball. _'I can't let the spirits' evil influence corrupt me. Not when there's still so much that needs to be done!' _she thought as she hurled the fireball at five Ghost Badniks about to fire at Ashley and Karla.

"Careful, miss. Their flames aren't natural."

Blaze gasped as a little squirrel ghost appeared beside her. The ghost held a large rainbow lollipop in her hands and had a determined look on her face. Wielding her lollipop like a quarterstaff, she bashed any dark spirit orbs that came too close.

"I hope Sonic's okay. Me and Doña Celia and Sergeant Juni tried to reach out to Fatima… but she didn't want to listen to us." Emily sniffed, tears welling up in her eyes. "What she's doing is wrong but… I know that, deep down, Fatima's hurting and she needs somebody to help her," she said sadly.

'_Not even her fellow ghosts were able to calm the flames of her wrath. Sonic… for all our sakes… I hope you can reach Fatima and bring her out of the darkness…' _Blaze prayed as she went back to putting out fires.

* * *

As the team slowly gained more ground, the flames around the Century Tree continued to burn. Multo watched from inside her Badnik, grinning as black flames spread across the pine tree's branches. _**"They will all burn in hell like the monsters they are…" **_she murmured to herself.

'_But what about Sonic? And his friends?' _A soft voice asked her, making Multo's eyes widen in shock.

Shaking her head, Multo raised her Badnik's arms and whirled them about. The swirl of fire surrounding the Century Tree closed in until it was nearly invisible in the tornado of flames. If Sonic and his friends wanted to burn with the villagers of Christmas Island, it no longer mattered to her…

'_This is wrong,' _Another voice whispered to her. _'You know it is…'_

"_**Shut up!" **_Multo hissed before hearing a familiar voice.

"FATIMA!" Sonic took down one more Ghost Badnik and sprinted towards the base of the Century Tree. His cobalt quills were streaked with ash and small burns from running into Multo's henchmen marred his arms but he forged on, determined to reach the Ghost Badnik housing his best friend.

Eggman gulped and followed his nemesis into mayhem. Silver and Shadow flanked him, the two hedgehogs flinging Chaos Spears and blasts of psychic energy at the dark spirits attempting to ambush them.

"_**Oh, you're still here?" **_Multo turned her Badnik around, looking at Sonic with contempt. _**"So you **_**have **_**sided with them," **_she said coldly.

"I'm only doing this to protect the kids you've hurt. That doesn't mean I've forgiven them!" Sonic looked up at Fatima, green eyes pleading. "I know how much they've hurt you. I've seen it and I've experienced it. You know that. But just because they bullied me, it doesn't mean I bully them back. This is wrong, Fatima," he told her.

"_**That's not my name anymore!" **_Multo screamed, so enraged that she left her Ghost Badnik to get at Sonic. The blue hedgehog gasped as Multo's flame-covered hands grabbed his left arm, burning him.

"SONIC!" Shadow yelled, seeing Fatima fling the Blue Blur into the air, just as Silver managed to float Eggman into the main Badnik sentinel. The dark spirits swirled around them, driving Shadow back towards Multo's abandoned Badnik.

Landing hard on his side, Sonic groaned. _'That's going to hurt in the morning…' _he thought, wincing, as he got up. He saw Multo disappear into the fire swirl and clenched his fists.

She was so close. He couldn't give up on her now.

Sonic's legs were a blur as he ran straight towards the fire swirl, ignoring Shadow, Silver, and Eggman's frantic shouts to stop. With a burst of speed, he jumped through the flames, just barely singeing the tips of his quills.

While Eggman frantically disabled the hive mind protocol of all the remaining Badniks, Shadow and Silver had their hands full keeping the dark spirits away from the Century Tree.

'_You better come back alive and in one piece, Faker…' _Shadow thought with a grim look on his face, seeing a black fireball floating up the Century Tree followed by a blue speck.

* * *

He'd always dreamt of running to the very top of the Century Tree when he was a kid.

If the Century Tree hadn't been on fire, Sonic would have felt thrilled as he sped up the tree's massive trunk. "F-Fatima, wait…!" he wheezed, smoke filling his lungs.

"_**My. Name. Is. MULTO!" **_The ghost hedgehog growled, thrusting an arm out and sending Sonic crashing down onto one of the few sturdy branches the Century Tree had left.

"Your name… is Fatima…" Sonic winced, clutching his burnt arm. "You love talking to ghosts, hearing their stories… Finding ways to help them rest in peace," he panted.

"_**No…" **_Multo glared at him, baring her teeth. _**"Shut up!" **_she shrieked, lobbing a fireball at Sonic.

Jumping out of the fireball's path and onto another branch, Sonic continued. "Your favorite flowers are jasmines! You prefer to have iced gems with red and purple icing because they're your favorite colors! And you love to make up games and even change the rules while we're playing! I used to think that it was kind of unfair but it never stopped you from making up new rules as we went along!" he shouted up at her.

"_**I'm not listening! Lalalalalala, I CAN'T HEAR YOU!" **_Multo covered her ears, shaking her head.

Sonic gulped, seeing how high up the two of them were now. He leaped up and grabbed hold of another branch, yelping as it snapped in half. He wrapped his arms and legs around the branch he'd been standing on as he landed, praying to Chaos that it wouldn't break.

Looking up, he could see Multo's dark form writhing and twisting in the air as she battled with her emotions. His heart cracked, seeing his best friend suffering from so much torment. But he noticed that the flames were dying down, slowly but surely.

"Despite everything they did to you, revenge against the other villagers wasn't something you sought. You forgave Arthur, Ashley, Elsie, Hughie, Jayden, Karla, and Lloyd every time they made fun of you or hurt you. You always tried to lend a hand to somebody in need…" said Sonic as he began to climb. With every careful step, he kept talking.

"We both promised to have each other's backs. And we planned on traveling the world together when we grew up, heading out to seek adventures in the great unknown. You wanted to become a paranormal investigator and we made sure to include haunted houses in our travel itinerary."

"_**Stop it… Stop talking!" **_Multo groaned, clutching her head and shutting her eyes. But Sonic grit his teeth, scaling the last few feet until he caught up with her at the very top. The tornado of fire was beginning to die down, and he could see the entire island every which way he looked.

Sonic smiled faintly, reaching out to Multo. "You and your family gave me a wonderful gift. I was so happy when I finally got to see Lolo Enrique, Doña Celia, Sergeant Juni, Emily, and all the good spirits you befriended. I was so happy, Fatima. You made me so happy…" he whispered as his fingers brushed against Multo's shoulder.

"_**AAAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGHHHH! STOP! SHUT UP! SHUT UP! SHUUUUT UUUUPPPP!"**_

To Sonic's sadness and confusion, Multo started throwing fireballs in all directions as she wailed. _**"STAY AWAY FROM ME! BE AFRAID OF ME! HATE ME! I'M A **__**MONSTER**__**! WHY DON'T YOU HATE ME?! WHY AREN'T YOU AFRAID OF ME?!" **_she screamed, tears dripping down her face, and sent out a large plume of black flame that headed straight for Sonic.

"Because you're my best friend, Fatima… You'll always be an angel to me…" Sonic whispered, smiling sadly, and resigned himself to his fate.

Multo's empty white eyes widened and she frantically drew her arms back in a vain attempt to stop her flames. But there was no stopping the plume of black fire. _**"BLUE STREAK!" **_she cried out just as three glowing white orbs appeared in front of Sonic.

There was a flash of white light at the top of the Century Tree. Sonic and Multo covered their eyes as a shield materialized in front of Sonic, protecting him from the fire blast. When the light faded, Sonic opened his eyes and gasped.

Multo opened her eyes and whimpered as three ghosts floated towards her. Sonic relaxed as one of the ghosts, a female hedgehog with long dark hair, approached Multo with a sad smile. "_Anak_, please… This has to stop now," she said softly.

"_**M-Ma…" **_The flames around Multo shrunk until they were mere wisps of smoke around her body. _**"Mama…" **_she choked out, tears slipping down her face.

"Mama Rosario… Lola Elena… Lolo Enrique…" Sonic whispered to himself, relieved beyond belief to see the three ghosts.

"_Anak._" Rosario smiled, cupping her daughter's face in her hands. Lola Elena and Lolo Enrique floated on either side of Multo, their arms wrapping around her.

"There, there, _hija_… It's all right. We're here now…" Lolo Enrique murmured, gently carding his hand through Multo's quills.

Multo cried and sobbed, the flames cloaking her body finally disappearing. Sonic felt tears fill his eyes as the terrifying entity that was Multo vanished. In her place was a crying hedgehog girl with shoulder-length black quills dressed in a burnt white blouse and a tattered brown skirt with a small garland of withered jasmines around her neck.

"I-I…" Fatima looked at her mother and grandparents, trembling. "I was bad! I was so bad! I-I hurt so many people! Mama! Lola! Lolo! _I'm so sorry!_" she cried, hiding her face in her hands.

"Hush now, _anak_… We know you are." Lola Elena gently kissed Fatima's tearstained cheek. "We're here to help make things right," she reassured her.

"But first… I think someone wants to see you," Rosario embraced her daughter then brought her to Sonic.

Fatima hiccupped on her tears, looking at Sonic. Seeing the burns and wounds scattered across the blue speedster's body, she whimpered and hid her face in her mother's side in shame.

"Hey there, Fatima…" Sonic called out, reaching out to the ghost of his best friend.

Encouraged by her mother, Fatima drifted closer to Sonic then slowly extended her hand. Sonic grinned, tears spilling down his cheeks, as Fatima's eyes met his. With a sob, Fatima let herself fall into Sonic's arms, cries of "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry…" muffled into the hedgehog's peach chest.

Sonic let out a shuddering breath, tears continuing to fall from his eyes, hugging Fatima. Her body felt cool and soothed the burns on his body. Her ghost form wasn't completely solid, almost feeling like a vapor, but he could hold on to her.

Sonic gave Fatima a gentle smile, letting her hide her face in his chest. "What do you say we go somewhere quiet to talk?" he asked her. Fatima whimpered but nodded, clinging onto Sonic as a child would to its mother.

Looking at Lola Elena, Mama Rosario, and Lolo Enrique, Sonic said, "Please," as he held Fatima close to him.

Understanding what Sonic wanted, the three ghosts gently placed their hands on Sonic's head and chanted, _"Free the soul and let it travel. To the realm between life mortal and eternal."_

A soft blue glow surrounded Sonic and he took a deep breath. He looked down to see Fatima peering up at him. "We can talk for as long as you want, angel. I'm not leaving you," Sonic reassured her, smiling as his vision went white.

* * *

**In case you're all wondering… I pulled a Temporary Main Character Death Card at the end of this chapter. Sorry.**

**Don't worry. It's only temporary.**

**-GuardianDragon98**


	16. Chapter 16

**Another early update for all of you to enjoy!**

**I'll be pretty busy tomorrow so I decided to finish this chapter ahead of schedule. The story's almost done, by the way. Only two more chapters after this one.**

**Here we go!**

**NOTE: I DO NOT OWN SONIC! ALL CHARACTERS (except for my OCs) BELONG TO SEGA!**

* * *

**Chapter 16**

Shadow knew that something was wrong the moment light exploded from the top of the Century Tree.

Just as Eggman disabled the Ghost Badniks' hive minds, a brilliant flash of light came from the top of the still-burning pine tree. Dark spirits shrieked and vanished as the light engulfed them, and Shadow hoped that whatever lit up had banished the spirits from the mortal realm permanently.

He left Silver with the Doctor and rushed to the Century Tree, slowing down as he reached the ring of scorched grass and earth surrounding it. Looking up, Shadow felt his heart stutter in his chest at the sight of three ghosts carrying Sonic's limp body down from the tree.

'_Please be unconscious. Please just let him be unconscious…' _Shadow prayed as he heard Amy and Tails shouting Sonic's name from behind him.

"Sonny boy!" Uncle Chuck yelled as he and the rest of the team caught up with Shadow, who rushed over to the Century Tree's base.

"Easy does it…" Lola Elena murmured as she, Mama Rosario, and Lolo Enrique set Sonic down against the Century Tree. Turning her head, she saw Shadow running full speed towards them. "Ah, hold on, _hijo_. You need to know something first…" she managed to say before Shadow reached them.

Shadow ignored Lola Elena, kneeling next to Sonic. The blue hedgehog's body was covered in cuts, bruises, and burns – large and small – and his face was deathly pale. And, to Shadow's worry, Sonic's chest wasn't moving with the usual rhythmic rise and fall.

'_No… No. Nononononono… Come on, Faker. Don't do this to me!' _Shadow thought, pressing his ear against Sonic's still chest while simultaneously pressing two fingers to his neck.

No breaths.

No pulse.

…No heartbeat.

"No…" whispered Shadow, drawing back from Sonic with a haunted look in his eyes. He heard people falling to their knees, followed by Amy's wails. He could hear Tails crying, "What happened to my big brother?!" as well as the ghosts trying to calm everyone down.

But Shadow didn't pay attention, his gaze only on Sonic. The blue hedgehog looked like he was just sleeping, his face calm and peaceful despite the bruises and burns marring his body. Seeing the Blue Blur lifeless… so _still_… it was wrong. So very, very wrong.

"Everyone, calm down!" Uncle Chuck's voice rose out from the cacophony of voices drowning out Shadow's thoughts. Turning his head, Shadow saw the elder hedgehog taking charge. Although his eyes occasionally drifted to his nephew's body, Uncle Chuck kept his voice steady and calm as he spoke to the six ghosts with the team. "Elena, Enrique, Rosario, what happened to my boy?" he asked them.

"Sonic's fine, Charles. He just had us separate his soul from his body for a little while so he and my _apo _can have some time alone," Lola Elena reassured him, her eyes looking over Amy, Tails, Knuckles, Blaze, Silver, Rouge, Omega, and Dr. Eggman.

"W-wait a second!" Silver's golden eyes kept looking back and forth from Sonic's lifeless body to the three ghosts (two of them he recognized from the pictures in Uncle Chuck's photo album). "So Sonic's… _temporarily dead_?" he asked.

"In a nutshell, yes." Lolo Enrique floated forward. "How long he'll stay that way… honestly, we don't know. But it's to be expected. He and Fatima have a lot of catching up to do," he told them, giving the group a small smile.

Tails silently went over to Sonic and sat next to him. He gently laid his twin tails over his big brother's body. "Are you sure he's going to be okay?" he asked the ghosts, looking at them with pleading eyes.

Mama Rosario patted the fox's head. "No harm will come to Sonic, _hijo_. His soul is in limbo right now. As for his body…" she frowned at the injuries. "Right now, it's getting a much-needed rest. I can take care of the wounds if you'll let me," she offered.

Tails nodded and Rosario gently passed her hands over all of Sonic's visible injuries. Her light blue aura gave off a calming glow and, before everyone's eyes, the cuts and burns on Sonic's body began to heal.

"How…?" Blaze murmured, awestruck.

"We spirits have a little bit of Chaos Energy left over from the time we were alive that we can still use," Rosario explained as she finished tending to Sonic's injuries.

Sergeant Juni frowned and looked out over the village. "Still got a couple of stragglers wandering around," he observed, spotting a few dark spirits flitting in and out of view.

"We'll need to get rid of them, then." Lola Elena rolled her shoulders back.

"All of you, stay here and look after Sonic. We'll handle this," said Doña Celia before glaring at Dr. Eggman. "And as for _you_, Señor Eggman…"

"Emily, if you would?" Lolo Enrique gave the little squirrel ghost a sly grin.

"You got it!" Emily disappeared for a few minutes then came back with a long rope, which she used to tie Dr. Eggman to the Century Tree's burnt trunk. "This is for disturbing the resting place of Fatima and her family _and _for all those times you've hurt Sonic," she hissed, holding her rainbow lollipop like a police baton in her hands.

Uncle Chuck smiled fondly at Elena and Rosario. "I don't know where to begin… It's been too long…" he mumbled. For years, he had wanted to apologize to his old friends for everything. Now, he wasn't sure if all the words in the world would ever be enough to let Elena and Rosario know how sorry he was for leaving them and little Fatima alone during that night.

"Oh, hush, Charles. You and Sonic have nothing to apologize for." Lola Elena smiled. "We can catch up later, once Sonic and Fatima come back," she told him.

"In the meantime, rest. You all deserve it," Rosario added before she and the rest of the ghosts flew off to banish the last of Christmas Island's dark spirits.

Which left the whole team crowded around Sonic.

"I know they said that he's only going to be like this temporarily. But…" Knuckles clenched his fists, looking away from his blue friend's still form. "He's _dead_. How am I supposed to stay calm when he's not alive?" he muttered.

"We'll just have to wait and have faith that Sonic will return from wherever he is," Blaze said, sitting on the scorched earth.

Amy sighed and sat next to Tails, gently rubbing the young fox's back. She knew that seeing Sonic in this state, despite being temporary, was very distressing to the young genius. "It'll be okay, Tails. He's just talking to an old friend," she whispered.

Tails nodded, rubbing his eyes. He locked eyes with Shadow, the black hedgehog having never moved from his spot beside Sonic. He could tell that Shadow was just as worried as he was. Wordlessly, he allowed Shadow to maneuver Sonic's body until it was resting in his lap.

"All we can do is wait…" Rouge sighed, taking a seat next to her friend.

"HOW WILL WE KNOW WHEN SONIC'S LIFE SUPPORT SYSTEMS ARE ACTIVE ONCE MORE?" Omega inquired.

Silver shrugged. "Maybe we'll see a sign. If he starts breathing again, at least we'll know that he's come back to us," he said.

Shadow said nothing. He kept his eyes on Sonic, waiting for the slightest signs of life. A slight twitch of a limp blue ear, a flutter of the eyelids, anything.

Anything to indicate that Sonic was alive.

But he wasn't. His body was here, with nothing but Tails' fluffy namesakes to keep it from going cold and stiff, while his spirit was out there somewhere.

As much as he agreed with letting Sonic and Fatima do some catching up to address whatever problems they had, Shadow hoped they wouldn't take too long.

* * *

Limbo, according to Lola Elena, wasn't the vast expanse of white light and nothingness commonly depicted in movies and TV shows. Rather, it was always in flux, changing into any type of environment that had ties to the soul (or souls) that inhabited it.

Sonic opened his eyes and found himself lying under the branches of his favorite tree, the branches rustling gently in the wind. Getting up, he stretched and breathed in the fresh scent of flowers. Looking around, he realized that limbo had manifested an amalgamation of his favorite spot outside Mobotropolis and the flower fields he and Fatima frequented.

Emerald green eyes widened and frantically scanned the fields. "Fatima?" Sonic called out, walking over to the fields.

The snap of a twig made him look back at the tree, where he spotted a familiar brown face peeking out from behind it. Smiling, Sonic walked back to the tree. Fatima silently stepped out of hiding, her eyes downcast.

Swallowing the lump in his throat, Sonic reached out and touched her hand. "I gotta say, limbo looks pretty nice, don't you think?" he asked.

Fatima looked up at the tree then at the flower fields. "Yeah… it does. It… reminds me of home," she mumbled then looked back at the tree. "I don't remember a tree being in the fields though," she said, touching the tree's rough bark.

"This is a tree I frequent back in Mobotropolis. I used to sit under it for hours after Uncle Chuck and I left…" Sonic said, sighing. His eyes lit up and he gestured to the fields. "Wanna go pick some flowers?"

Fatima gave him a confused look but followed him into the fields. For a moment, she watched Sonic carefully select and pluck the choicest flowers in the fields. But when the blue hedgehog came back and presented her with a most beautiful bouquet, she frowned.

"Why?" Fatima looked at Sonic, biting her lip. "Why are you being… so nice to me?" she asked, her voice trembling.

Sonic's gaze softened. "Because you're my best friend, Fatima," he simply said, giving her the bouquet.

"I don't deserve to be called that. Not after everything I've done." The bouquet shook as Fatima held it in her hands. "I hurt you. I hurt Uncle Chuck. I hurt your friends. I hurt so many people. I even hurt complete strangers. Don't you see, Blue Streak?" she whispered, her entire form suddenly becoming wreathed in smoke.

Sonic gasped as the bouquet burst into flames as Fatima's entire form was engulfed in black fire.

"_**Ashley and the others were right! I'm a freak! A witch! A monster! That's what those kids called me, and they were right all along! I'm nothing but a MONSTER!" **_Fatima cried, tears leaking out of her now all-white eyes.

Sonic sighed and reached out, gently brushing his hand against Fatima's cheek. "Not to me," he whispered, going closer to Fatima until he managed to press his forehead against hers. "But, to be honest, for a while… I was afraid that you had become a monster. I thought I lost you forever. But when you tried to stop your flames from hurting me, I knew that you were still in there," he said, tears welling up in his eyes.

Fatima went still, her eyes going wide. Sonic smiled at her, a single tear slipping down his cheek. "You're not a monster, angel. You're just a kid – a kid with a really special gift. A kid who got badly hurt. You were angry. I understand that. Believe me… I've spent a long time being angry at those guys because of what they did…" Sonic admitted.

The black flames cloaking Fatima's body went out. The brown hedgehog sniffed, looking at the ashes – the remains of the bouquet Sonic had given her - sifting through her fingers. "I-I was so mad. Lola, Mama, and I… we weren't doing anything wrong. We didn't hurt anyone and they still… _killed _us. I wanted them to pay… I wanted to hurt them like they hurt me, make them feel all the agony and suffering they inflicted upon us," she said haltingly before looking Sonic in the eye.

"How can I not be a monster, Sonic? How can you still call me your best friend even after I hurt you and so many people?" she asked him.

"Because I know how you feel." Sonic clasped Fatima's hands, giving them a reassuring squeeze. "I'll be honest, Fatima. I didn't want to return to Christmas Island at first. There were too many bad memories in that place. Heck, _I _wanted Arthur and every single one of our tormentors to pay for their crimes, too. But, when I thought about it… I realized that hurting them back wouldn't make things any better," he confessed.

Sitting down with Fatima amongst the flowers, Sonic looked up at the sky. "I can't forgive them for what they did to you and your family, angel. In fact, I doubt I ever will. But… I don't want to spend the rest of my life carrying all of this anger and bitterness inside of me. Sometimes, the best thing you can do… is to just let go of the past and keep running forward," he said quietly.

Fatima stared at Sonic, contemplating her best friend's words. To not forgive but still have the strength to move on, it sounded hypocritical but strangely… okay? Could she do that? The very idea felt a walking contradiction.

Looking at Sonic, Fatima couldn't help but think that her dear friend was a walking contradiction himself. From what she had glimpsed in Eggman's memories as well as that of Sonic's friends, he was depicted as a guy who lived life with no regrets and remained cheerful no matter how dire the situations.

Sonic's own memories were a stark contrast to all of that. He had a ton of regrets that he buried deep into his soul. And the biggest regret he had, the heaviest weight that he carried around in his heart, was failing to save her and her family.

"You say that the best thing to do is to let go of the past and move forward… but you're not really doing that, are you, Blue Streak?" Fatima asked, cupping Sonic's cheek in her hand.

At her gentle touch, Sonic felt the floodgates burst open. Sobs spilled out of the Hero of Mobius' mouth as he curled in on himself.

"I'm so sorry! I-I'm so sorry, Fatima! I'm so sorry I couldn't save you!" he choked out. The more he tried to wipe away his tears, the more he seemed to cry.

"Oh, Blue Streak…" Fatima wrapped her arms around Sonic, running her hand through his azure quills. "Shhh… it's okay…" she whispered, rocking him back and forth.

"No, it's not!" Sonic shook his head, trembling whimpers tearing out of his throat. "I promised you that I would protect you, that I'd be your hero! And, when you needed me most, I failed! I wasn't fast enough to reach you! I'm no hero, Fatima! I couldn't save you! I…" he exclaimed before the rest of his words were drowned out by weeping.

"Shhh… Shhh…" Fatima soothed him, nuzzling her cheek against Sonic's. Tears streamed down her own face as they stayed like that for a while, hugging and crying.

Finally, Fatima cleared her throat to speak. "You risked your life for me, Sonic. Even if you didn't save me, you still tried to get me out of that fire. You did everything you could, even getting your hands burnt. You acted like a hero that night, Blue Streak. You've saved so many people from Eggman and other villains. You've given hope to those who had none, risking your life for everyone's freedom with a smile on your face. You _are _a hero, Sonic," she whispered, brushing away Sonic's tears.

"_You've always been a hero to me."_

Sonic managed to crack a smile as he wiped the last of his tears away. "I missed you, Fatima," he said.

"I missed you, too, Sonic," Fatima replied, smiling back.

The wind blew through the fields, sending flower petals up into the sky. The two hedgehogs lay down, side-by-side, watching them dance through the air as they floated down. It was beautiful and peaceful. They would have liked to stay longer. However…

"Oh, shoot. We better go back. Uncle Chuck and the others are probably worried sick…" Sonic sat up. The battle against the Ghost Badniks and his desperate run up the Century Tree had definitely left his body banged up. If Uncle Chuck and Tails and the others had found his body by now, they were probably freaking out.

Fatima wrung her hands, not quite meeting his eyes.

"It'll be okay, Fatima. Trust me," Sonic told her, grinning as he held out his hand.

Taking a deep breath, Fatima nodded. "Okay…" she said, taking Sonic's hand.

Their bodies glowed with a brilliant white aura. The tree and flowers faded away.

Closing his eyes, Sonic tightened his grip on Fatima's hand… and the two of them went back to the realm of the living.

* * *

When Sonic opened his eyes again, he certainly wasn't expecting his first sight to be a certain Ultimate Lifeform's concerned face.

Blinking his emerald green eyes, Sonic gazed into Shadow's ruby orbs… then smiled.

"Hey, Shads."

* * *

**Read and review! Reviews are what help me improve my stories and motivate me to write even more!**

**-GuardianDragon98**


	17. Chapter 17

**This is the second to the last chapter. Hopefully, I'll be able to write the last chapter tomorrow and post it this weekend at the latest. For all the readers who have followed this story from the first chapter to this, thank you all so much for your support!**

**NOTE: I OWN NOTHING HERE, EXCEPT FOR MY OCs!**

**NOTE 2: Thanks to ****numberjacksoctonauts and SKdaGamer for pointing out a small typo. It's been fixed now :)**

* * *

**Chapter 17**

How long he sat there, cradling Sonic's body in his arms, Shadow didn't know. But it didn't matter. He was going to stay by the Century Tree and keep an eye on Sonic for as long as it took for him to wake up.

And then the spirit orbs appeared.

One of them was glowing a bright blue and was led to Sonic's body by a light gray spirit orb. Shadow blinked as the gray spirit orb seemed to turn to him.

"_I'm sorry… I'll put him back now…" _A girl's voice whispered before the gray spirit orb gently nudged the blue one towards Sonic's body.

Shadow watched the blue spirit orb circle over the blue hedgehog's still chest before diving in. Suddenly, Sonic's entire body jerked as he gasped for air. Blue eyelids slowly fluttered open and Shadow found himself gazing into emerald pools.

"Hey, Shads."

Shadow couldn't help but smile back at Sonic, who was now awake and _alive_. "Hey yourself," he said as Sonic sat up. The cobalt speedster raised an eye ridge at him, and that's when Shadow realized that Sonic was still on his lap. Blushing, he looked away as Sonic stood up, not noticing the soft red blush adorning the latter's muzzle.

"SONIC!" Tails jumped into his big brother's arms, tears streaming down his cheeks. Amy followed suit, exclaiming how happy she was to see Sonic alive through her sobs.

Sonic chuckled, embracing Tails and Amy tightly. He grinned at Knuckles, the echidna walking over to him.

"Welcome back, you blue idiot." Knuckles smirked, lightly punching the hedgehog in the shoulder.

"Good to be back, Knux," said Sonic as Amy and Tails let go of him. He sighed with relief as Uncle Chuck ran up to him. "I'm okay, Unk… I got through to her," he whispered, hugging his uncle.

Uncle Chuck noticed the gray spirit orb hovering over his nephew's shoulder and smiled warmly. "Good job, Sonny boy…" he murmured, ruffling Sonic's quills.

"It's good to see you alive, Sonic," Blaze said, relief shining in her eyes.

"Yeah! You really had us all worried," Silver added, grinning.

"SONIC'S VITALS ARE STABLE. RELIEF: IMMEASURABLE," Omega droned.

Rouge gave Sonic a warm hug. "You had us going there for a moment, Big Blue. You scared the crap right out of Shadow here." She jabbed a thumb at the Ultimate Lifeform with a playful wink. "Poor honey cradled you in his arms for nearly two hours," she informed Sonic, who gave Shadow a surprised look.

Shadow gave his bat friend a fierce glare, his cheeks turning as red as his stripes. He tensed up as Sonic walked over to him but calmed when the blue hedgehog gave him a shy smile.

"You… didn't have to…" Sonic said, his cheeks as red as Shadow's.

"I-I know… But I wanted to." Shadow took a deep breath and, to everyone's surprise (and Rouge's delight), wrapped his arms around Sonic and hugged him. "Just, please, for all our sakes, never do that again," he whispered into Sonic's ear. _'I don't think I'll be able to handle seeing you die again…' _ he mentally added.

"Noted," Sonic whispered back, getting out of the hug before it got too awkward.

At that moment, Mama Rosario, Lola Elena, Lolo Enrique, Doña Celia, Sergeant Juni, and Emily's spirits returned. All six ghosts surrounded Sonic, wide smiles on their faces.

"_Hay, salamat sa Panginoon!_" Doña Celia clasped her hands and lifted her head to the heavens.

"You sure know how to give us a hell of a scare, soldier. Glad to see you up and about," Sergeant Juni said, saluting Sonic.

Emily looked around. "Hey, where's Fatima?" she wondered out loud.

Sonic smiled at the gray spirit orb hovering over his shoulder. "She's right here," he said, cupping his hands under the orb and bringing it closer to him. Smiling gently, he whispered, "It's okay, Fatima. You don't have to be scared."

"He's right, _anak. _No one will hurt you," Rosario coaxed her daughter, floating next to Sonic.

Amy, Blaze, Knuckles, Omega, Rouge, Silver, Shadow, and Tails watched the gray spirit orb. Their eyes widened as its round shape morphed into a Mobian's. In just a few seconds, Fatima the Hedgehog stood before them. Her appearance was startling to the team as, up until now, they had only seen her as the horrifying Multo.

Well here was Multo's real self, a young girl.

"I'm sorry…" Fatima bowed her head, her voice heavy with regret. "I've caused you all so much trouble. I'm really sorry…" she said, tears glistening in her eyes.

"Are you kidding me?!" Dr. Eggman exclaimed, struggling against the ropes tying him to the Century Tree. "You're telling me I was possessed by a _kid_?!" he asked, making everyone, bar Fatima, glare daggers at him.

"That's not very nice, Dr. Eggman," Orbot told him, folding his arms over his metal chest.

"Yeah! Even when she was Ms. Multo, Fatima was a hundred times nicer to us than you!" Cubot added, glaring at his creator.

Lolo Enrique and Lola Rosario floated over to Dr. Eggman, their faces dark with rage.

"Say one more bad word about my _apo_, I dare you," Lolo Enrique growled, his aura turning dark.

Lola Elena didn't say anything, but her eyes lost their pupils, making her glare at the Doctor more terrifying.

Tails looked away from Eggman and turned to Fatima. The hedgehog's ghost was still staring at the ground, biting her lower lip. Beside her, Sonic gently patted her shoulder. _'I know she hurt us back when she was Multo… But she's still my brother's first best friend. She deserves a second chance,' _he thought, taking a deep breath.

Walking over to Fatima, Tails smiled. "Hi, Fatima. I'm Miles Prower, but you can call me 'Tails.' It's nice to meet you!" he greeted her, holding his hand out.

Fatima's gaze snapped up, her tear-filled eyes blinking owlishly at the fox. "You're… not mad at me? W-Why? I-I hurt you…" she whispered.

"Well," Tails rubbed the back of his neck. "I'll admit that I was hurt. But it's okay. I'm not mad. Besides, I want to get to know you better. You're my brother's best friend, after all," he said, his blue eyes shining.

Fatima opened and closed her mouth, struggling to come up with a good response. She glanced at Sonic, the blue hedgehog giving her a thumbs up.

"I… Thank you. I would like to get to know you better, too, Tails," Fatima said, shyly smiling.

Sonic looked at the rest of his friends. "You guys don't have any hard feelings towards her, do you?" he asked, feeling a bit concerned. He knew he could count on Tails to forgive Fatima, but he wasn't sure about the others.

Shadow folded his arms across his chest. "You promise you won't do something like this ever again?" he asked Fatima, gesturing to the scorched landscape around them. Looking into Fatima's eyes, he then asked, "You promise to never mess with anyone's minds again?"

Fatima sniffed, rubbing her eyes. "I won't. I promise. I…" Remembering Shadow's memories, she nodded. "I'll never do it again," she swore to him.

Shadow gave her a small smile. "Then you're cool," he replied, leading the rest of the team to voice out their own sentiments.

"We forgive you, Fatima," Amy said.

"We understand why you did it. Heck, if I'd gone through everything you went through, I'd be pretty angry myself," Silver chimed in.

"While it's true that you have hurt us, we understand that it's because you were hurt yourself. After hearing your story, we can't find it in ourselves to despise you," Blaze told the ghost, smiling gently.

Sonic grinned, wrapping an arm around Fatima's waist. "See, angel? We're all good," he told her.

Fatima giggled, feeling at ease. Then she spotted the villagers walking towards the team and tensed. Sonic sighed and motioned to Mama Rosario and Lola Elena to accompany him. With the two spirits floating on either side of him, he faced Ashley and all the villagers.

"The crisis has been averted. Now… _I think you guys have something to say to them,_" Sonic addressed the villagers as Mama Rosario and Lola Elena hovered to the front.

Ashley and the others froze upon seeing the two ghosts for a moment. But then they knelt and bowed their heads.

"What we did to you all those years ago… from treating you three as outcasts to the night when we stood by and did nothing as our parents killed you… we know it's unforgivable. And we understand if you won't forgive us. But we are so sorry. On behalf of our parents, we apologize," Ashley said, her voice thick with emotion.

Rosario and Elena looked at each other, then at Enrique, Doña Celia, Sergeant Juni, and Emily. Finally, they looked to Fatima, who stared at the villagers. Fatima steeled her nerves and joined her mother and her grandmother.

"Fatima…" Karla murmured, her eyes wide. Behind her, Arthur swallowed.

Looking at the faces of her childhood bullies, Fatima clenched her fists. She was still angry at them. But she knew that she'd already punished them enough. Now was the time to follow Sonic's advice… and let go.

"I'm still angry for what happened… But I also want to say I'm sorry for all the trouble I caused, especially for your kids." Fatima glanced at the children who, thankfully, didn't look afraid of her. She knelt and touched her forehead to the ground briefly before standing up. "I regret my actions as Multo and I promise I won't do it again," she said sincerely.

"However…"

Ashley, Arthur, Elsie, Hughie, Jayden, Karla, and Lloyd looked up from their kneeling position to find Fatima gazing at them intently.

"Promise me that the next time you meet someone like me and Blue Streak… someone _different_… don't treat them the way you treated us. Get to know them… before you judge them and push them away," Fatima pleaded.

"We won't." Arthur nodded. "We promise, Fatima. We'll change. And do our best to make amends," he promised.

The village children were quick to chime in.

"We will!" Rody nodded, jumping to his feet and his tail wagging. "We won't bully anyone just because they're different. You can count on us, Fatima!" he said.

"It's not right to judge someone right away. We're awfully sorry it took this long for our parents to learn that lesson," Enzo added, smiling sheepishly.

"But we won't make the same mistakes. We'll be kinder to strangers… And if they can do stuff we can't, we won't shun them," Lucia promised.

"Thank you… Never forget those promises," Fatima said then turned to her family.

Lola Elena frowned. "Well… I suppose the rest of us forgive you. But!" She then turned to Eggman, glaring at the villain. "We want our remains to be re-buried in the same spot, with all the appropriate burial rites performed," she requested.

"In the meantime, we'll help in cleaning up this mess," Rosario said, looking at all the damage her daughter had caused during her rampage.

"Sorry…" Fatima mumbled, looking down at her feet.

"No sweat, angel. We'll all pitch in to help." Sonic wrapped an arm around her waist in a side hug. "And while we're at it, I can tell you some stories about the adventures I've been on," he said, winking.

Fatima visibly perked up. "Tell me all of them, Blue Streak! I wanna hear about everything!" she said, grinning.

* * *

Cleanup lasted all day, with both Mobians and spirits pitching in to clear away rubble and put out fires. With the help of her family and ghost friends, Fatima summoned more good spirits. Combining the remnants of their Chaos Energy, the ghosts imbued Christmas Island with life energy to kick-start the renewal of plant life in the village. Despite the damages sustained by the fire swirl, the Century Tree was still standing and new branches began to grow to replace the burnt and broken ones much to the amazement and delight of the villagers.

Dr. Eggman, on the other hand, was placed under close watch. Orbot and Cubot were happy to keep an eye on him, tying the Doctor up so he wouldn't be able to escape.

A grave was dug up at the site of Fatima's house and Uncle Chuck turned over the family's remains to a priest, who blessed them before they were buried once more.

"It feels weird to attend my own funeral…" Fatima whispered to Sonic as the service was carried out.

Sonic hummed, gently squeezing her hand. Looking at Lola Elena and Mama Rosario, he could tell that they were finally at peace now that they had gotten the proper funeral they deserved. His heart clenched as he realized what was going to happen next.

"Are you… going to leave when this is over?" he whispered to Fatima, who smiled.

"Mama and Lola said we could stay until tonight. That'll give us plenty of time to catch up," she told him.

Breathing out a sigh of relief, Sonic grinned. "Great. My friends wanna get to know you better, too. Let's have fun while we still can," he said just as the priest concluded the funeral.

Once the funeral for Fatima and her family was over, Sonic and his friends spent the rest of the day playing with Fatima and her ghost friends. While Uncle Chuck sat down and chatted with Lola Elena, Mama Rosario, and Lolo Enrique, Sonic regaled Fatima with tales of his adventures around Mobius. He told her about all the places he'd been to, of all the things he did during his travels, and of the people he had met on his journeys.

Tails eagerly filled in any details his big brother missed and recounted how he and Sonic first met along with Knuckles and Amy, the three of them having been friends with Sonic the longest.

Fatima loved their stories, her eyes wide with wonder as she listened to how her best friend calmed the wrath of Chaos and fought off a Biolizard in space. And she had so much fun playing with the children, using her levitation to make them float alongside Silver. She was fascinated by Blaze's pyrokinesis and amazed upon learning about the Sol Dimension.

Oh, if only she was alive! She could travel to the Sol Dimension and all the other places Sonic told her about!

But Fatima knew and accepted that she wasn't going to be able to experience all the things Sonic had done. It was okay. She had her best friend's stories to satisfy her curiosity, and she marveled over how much Sonic had done for society as a whole.

'_You're a true hero, Blue Streak… I always knew you'd grow up to be one,' _Fatima thought as she listened to Sonic as he launched into another tale about how he teamed up with a genie to restore the world of the Arabian Nights.

She and Sonic never left each other's sides. It was almost like old times. Except, this time, they had more friends to hang out with. Fatima was more than happy to make flower crowns for everyone to wear, including Omega despite the robot saying that he did not understand the meaning of wearing the so-called 'impractical plant trinkets.'

At twilight, Fatima and her family asked Shadow to come with them to a quiet area in the village while everyone else was at the plaza.

"I'm really thankful that Sonic has wonderful friends like you, Shadow," Fatima began, smiling. Then she leaned forward until her face was just a few inches away from the Ultimate Lifeform's. "So, do you… like him?" she asked.

Shadow gaped at her, speechless. "Wh-wh-what?" he stuttered out, making Fatima and Emily laugh.

"Oh, he's blushing! That means yes!" Emily giggled.

Shadow covered his cheeks, inwardly groaning upon feeling how warm they were. But he looked at Fatima and gave her a shrug.

Okay, maybe he did… care deeply about Sonic. But that's what friends did, right? They cared for each other…

"Okay, I won't pry any further." Fatima held up her hands in a placating gesture. "Just so you know, I'm perfectly fine with it. But…" she fixed her eyes on Shadow, a dark aura suddenly surrounding her.

"If you _ever _break Sonic's heart…"

Shadow felt a chill run up his spine as, all of a sudden, Fatima transformed into Multo. Blank white eyes drilled into his skull as Multo growled, _**"I will haunt you for the rest of your life."**_

Shadow let out a weak whimper as, one-by-one, Mama Rosario, Lola Elena, Lolo Enrique, Doña Celia, Sergeant Juni, _and _Emily gave him stern looks. All six ghosts' had a dark aura surrounding them and their faces were cast in shadow.

"She won't be the only one, young man."

"Hurt our _hijo_, and you'll face our combined wrath."

"And you better not make him cry."

"Prayers won't save you, _Señor_ Shadow."

"Sonic's a fine soldier. I won't tolerate a man who'll hurt him."

"So be nice to Sonic, Shadow… _or else_!"

Multo grinned and transformed back into Fatima, much to Shadow's relief. "Are we clear?" she asked him.

"Crystal…" Shadow gulped, barely suppressing a shudder as the ghosts led him back to the plaza.

Sonic cocked his head upon seeing Fatima and her family return with a quieter-than-usual Shadow. "Hey, Shads. Where'd you guys head off to?" he asked.

"Fatima just wanted to chat for a bit," Shadow mumbled, hurrying over to Rouge. The bat merely looked at Fatima and chuckled, her gut knowing just what kind of chat her teammate had with the little ghost hedgehog and her family.

Sonic shrugged, not noticing the sly smiles on his ghost friends' faces.

* * *

Nighttime came too fast for Fatima and Sonic's liking.

"I know I've told you all about my adventures. But…" Sonic sighed as he adjusted the flower crown adorning his head. "…I wish you could stay longer," he admitted to Fatima, who smiled sadly.

"All spirits must move on at some point. And, with everything I've done, I'm probably going to have to spend some time in purgatory before I head to the pearly gates," Fatima said, hugging her sides.

"Don't say that. You're a good person, Fatima," Sonic insisted. Just the thought of his best friend being punished in purgatory was enough to make him feel afraid.

"Well, maybe I'll be lucky and I'll only have to spend a couple of years there. If someone will say prayers for me, maybe my sentence will even get shortened," Fatima said, smiling optimistically.

"I'll do that. I'll pray for your soul every day." Sonic glanced at the memorial the villagers had put up for Fatima and her family. "And I'll come to visit. On your birthday, my birthday, the day you died, and on all the special days for the dead," he promised.

Fatima smiled. "Thanks, Blue Streak," she said as her family and friends joined them.

"You're free to drop by at our place in Mobotropolis anytime," Uncle Chuck said, clasping Elena and Rosario's hands. "Oh, darn. I better give you two my address…" he muttered.

"No need for that, Charles. I'm sure we'll be able to find you," Lola Elena told him, smiling as Sonic went over to her with Fatima.

"It was so nice to see you again, Sonic," Mama Rosario embraced the blue hedgehog, kissing him on the forehead. "You've grown into a fine young man… I only wish my daughter could have gotten the chance to grow up with you," she sighed.

"You have no idea how many times I've wished for that…" Sonic murmured, looking at Fatima with glossy eyes.

The stars twinkled up above. Tails, Knuckles, Amy, Blaze, Silver, Shadow, Omega, and Rouge watched in awe as hundreds of spirit orbs rose up and floated up towards the heavens.

"Ah, time for us to be off," Lolo Enrique said as his form glowed an ethereal bluish-white.

"It was nice to meet you all! Bye!" Emily said, waving at the assembled Mobians, as she and Doña Celia assumed their spirit orb forms.

"It was an honor to fight beside you brave soldiers. Keep up the good work!" Sergeant Juni saluted, Knuckles snapping to attention and returning the salute.

Mama Rosario, Lola Elena, and Lolo Enrique looked at Sonic and Fatima, smiling softly. The two hedgehogs faced each other, their eyes welling up with tears.

Fatima moved first, rushing over to Sonic and hugging him tightly. "I'll miss you…" she whimpered, tears running down her cheeks.

"I'll miss you, too, angel," Sonic whispered, sniffing.

Fatima smiled, one hand cupping Sonic's cheek. "I'm so proud of you, Blue Streak. You've become the hero you promised you would be," she said.

Sonic sobbed, burying his face in Fatima's shoulder. _'I wish I could have been your hero that night, Fatima…' _he thought.

Fatima rubbed his back, her thoughts entering Sonic's mind. _'You were my hero that night, Sonic. You tried to save me back then. And you saved me now. You'll always be my hero,' _she thought back as her form began to glow.

Sonic looked into Fatima's eyes. Upon seeing her bright smile, the smile he loved so much, he smiled and kissed Fatima on the forehead. "You'll always be my best friend, Fatima. In this life and in the afterlife," he said softly.

"And you'll always be mine, Sonic. In this life and in the afterlife." Fatima stood on tiptoe to plant a soft kiss on the blue hedgehog's cheek. "Wherever I'm going, I'll watch over you like a guardian angel," she said.

Sonic laughed and held onto Fatima's hands even as she started to fade away.

"Goodbye, Sonic," said Fatima, giving her best friend one final smile before turning back into a spirit orb and floating up into the sky, joining her mother and grandparents. In the blink of an eye, they were gone.

'_Goodbye, Fatima…' _Sonic looked up at the stars, smiling even as the tears streamed down his face.

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**We're at the home stretch! I might go back to this chapter and maybe others in the future to revise them, though.**

**Anyway, read and review, please :)**

**-GuardianDragon98**


	18. Epilogue

**This is it. The final chapter of "My Past is Not A Pretty Place."**

**I want to thank all of you for supporting this story to the very end. From adding it to your bookmarked stories list, reviewing the chapters, and taking the time to read it… thank you so much.**

**And a big thank you to FrozenFlames12! Thank you for giving me the story idea with your prompts and for helping me workshop this idea. May you continue to come up with brilliant ideas and write great fics!**

**NOTE: I DO NOT OWN ANY OF THE SONIC CHARACTERS. ALL RIGHTS GO TO SEGA!**

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**Chapter 18**

"Thank you for everything, Mr. Hedgehog," Ashley said as she shook hands with Uncle Chuck.

"You're welcome. Guess we'll be coming back here every now and then," said the elder hedgehog. He turned and saw Blaze, Silver, Rouge, and Omega leading a bound Dr. Eggman, Orbot and Cubot following them.

Tails finished checking both the Tornado and the Blue Typhoon's fuel levels. "Okay. We're all set, Uncle Chuck," he said as Knuckles helped Amy board the Tornado.

Uncle Chuck smiled and looked out into the distance. They were going to leave soon.

As soon as Sonic finished paying his respects.

Sonic sighed as he placed a bouquet of white jasmines on top of the gravestone. He looked at the picture of Fatima, Mama Rosario, and Lola Elena sealed behind a clear plastic cover embedded into the gravestone, then at the epitaphs.

_In loving memory of_

_Elena the Hedgehog_

_Rosario the Hedgehog_

_Fatima the Hedgehog_

"_Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you." - Ephesians 4: 32_

"I'll come back to visit soon. I promise," Sonic murmured, placing his hand against the marble gravestone.

Beside him, Shadow stood and gazed at the picture of Fatima and her family. _'I hope you three are finally at peace among the angels, especially you Fatima,' _he prayed before glancing at Sonic.

"You okay?"

"I'm still sad. It still hurts, Shads." Sonic gave his black counterpart a soft smile. "But you know what? I think I'm gonna be okay," he reassured him.

Shadow smiled back, taking Sonic's hand in his. "Let's get going. Everyone's waiting for us," he told him.

The two hedgehogs left the gravesite hand-in-hand.

"Hey, Shads?"

"Yeah?"

"You visit Maria's grave every now and then, right?"

"As often as I can. Why?"

"…Do you think I can come with you next time? I'd… like to say hi to her and pay my respects as well…"

Shadow blinked, surprised at Sonic's sudden request. He usually visited Maria alone.

"I-I mean…" Sonic's cheeks were now turning a bright shade of crimson. "I understand if you don't want to…" he managed to say before Shadow interrupted him.

"I think… I think she'd like that," Shadow said, interlacing his fingers with Sonic's. "But… would you mind if I accompany you here to Christmas Island the next time you visit Fatima and her family?" he asked, blushing as well.

Sonic grinned. "Not at all, Shads. You can totally come," he replied.

Shadow smiled, giving Sonic's hand a gentle squeeze as they left.

If the two hedgehogs had looked over their shoulders, even for just a brief moment, they would have seen two ghosts watching them.

"All right. I'll admit it, Maria." Fatima looked up at the blonde-haired human girl next to her. "Your little brother's really sweet," she said, smiling at the two hedgehogs as they left.

"And your best friend's just as sweet, Fatima. Yes…" Maria Robotnik smiled as she watched her brother laugh at something Sonic said. "They'll face many challenges in life… but at least they'll face them together," she said.

And with that, the two ghosts vanished. And although Sonic and Shadow didn't see them, they felt a sense of calm and peace fill them.

They had each other now, their bond having been strengthened by the trials they faced on Christmas Island these past few days. And they had two guardian angels watching over them.

Whatever challenge came next, Sonic and Shadow knew that they were going to be okay.

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**And that's a wrap on "My Past is Not A Pretty Place" everyone! Next time you see me, it'll be in the Sonic Boom fanfiction archives. I have quite a few ideas that I'm excited to write for that fandom!**

**Until next time!**

**-GuardianDragon98**


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